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JOHNA.SEAVERNS 


HEAD    OF   TYPICAL   ARABIAN   HORSE. 


My  HORSE;  My  Love 


"  His  neigh  is  like  the  bidding  of  a  monarch,  and  his  countenance 
enforces  homage."— KING  HENRY  V. 


BY 


DINAH   SHARPE 

AUTHOR  OF  "THE  APPLE  OF  ARABIA'S  EYE,"  AND  OTHER  STORIES 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK 
ORANGE   JUDD   COMPANY 

1892 


Copyright,  189?, 
By   SARA    BUCKMAN    LINARD. 


To 

MY   DAUGHTERS 

VIRNIE  AND    MARGUERITE, 

THIS    BOOK    IS    MOST    LOVINGLY 

ITnscrfbeD. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Introduction, i 

CHAPTER    1. 
Veterinary  Education, 12 

CHAPTER   n. 
Facilities  for  Breeding  in  America 18 

CHAPTER    HI. 
The  Sense  of  Smell  in  the  Horse, 22 

CHAPTER    IV. 

Nature's  Vinaigrette, 25 

CHAPTER   V, 
Arabia ,.,...     32 

CHAPTER    VI. 
Famous  Arabian  Horses, .38 

CHAPTER    VII. 
Pedigree  of  Arabian  Horses, 45 

CHAPTER    VIII. 
It  is  the  Blood  that  Tells, 52 

CHAPTER    IX. 
Types  of  Arabian  Horses 55 


Vill  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    X. 

PAGE 

Arabian  Horses  in  England, 60 

CHAPTER    XL 

English  and  Russian  Horses, <J5 

CHAPTER    XH. 
Cruelty  of  Docking, .         .71 

CHAPTER   XHI. 
Operation  of  Docking, 76 

CHAPTER    XIV. 
The  Mexican  Bit  and  Curb, 81 

CHAPTER    XV. 
The  Bearing- Rein,       .        , 88 

CHAPTER    XVI. 
Balking, •        .92 

CHAPTER    XVII. 
Blinkers  and  Blindness, 96 

CHAPTER    XVIII. 
Teeth  and  Toothache 100 

CHAPTER    XIX. 
Lockjaw .102 

CHAPTER    XX. 

Arab  Horses  in  South  America, 107 

CHAPTER    XXL 
Arab  Horses  in  North  America, m 


CONTENTS.  IX 

CHAPTER    XXII. 

PAGE 

Secretary  Seward's  Arabs, ii8 

CHAPTER    XXIII. 
Selim, 121 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 
Abdallah, 124 

CHAPTER   XXV. 
The  American  Horse, 127 

CHAPTER    XXVI. 
'•Standard  Bred"  Horses, 132 

CHAPTER    XXVII. 
General  Grant's  Horses, 136 

CHAPTER    XXVIII. 
Americo-Arab  Stud, 142 

CHAPTER    XXIX. 
Conclusion, 149 


MY  HORSE;  MY  LOVE. 


INTRODUCTION. 

"Ah,  this  is  delightful,"  exclaimed  the  Count,  as 
he  held  his  hands  toward  the  cheerful  blaze  of  a 
bright  wood  fire,  on  our  broad  old  hearthstone. 

The  Count  had  come  to  make  us  a  long-promised 
visit  in  the  early  autumn ;  arriving  at  the  twilight 
hour  of  a  dreary  day,  chill  and  bleak,  with  a  persis- 
tent soaking  rain,  and  a  gusty,  soughing  wind. 
For  one  long  week  the  sun  had  hidden  his  face  be- 
hind the  dull  and  sodden  sky,  depriving  us  of  the 
solace  even  of  a  brisk  walk,  or  a  game  at  tennis,  in 
these  last  days  of  our  summer  sojourn  by  the  seaside. 
So  we  heard  the  roar  of  the  ocean,  and  the  howling 
wind  outside,  with  a  pleasing  sense  of  comfort  in  the 
contrast,  as  we  watched  the  wide  flames,  now  shoot- 
ing up  with  a  noisy  crackling  energy,  now  dying 
down  to  a  hissing  mysterious  whisper. 

Conversation  was  brisk,  for  the  Count  had  such 
an  inexhaustible  fund  of  romance,  fact,  story,  and 
adventure,  that  we  gavq-him  little  chance  of  rest 
when  an  adroit  question,  here  and  there,  inspired 
him  to  tell  us  of  his  past  life.     A  Polish  patriot — 

I 


3  MY  horse;  my  love. 

the  last  of  the  noble  family  of  Kosciusko — his  studied 
English  and  quaint  accent  added  greatly  to  the  in- 
terest of  his  narrations. 

As  he  had  promised  to  tell  us  the  "  why  and  where- 
fore "  of  his  residence  in  America,  with  a  final  poke 
at  the  fire  the  little  war  of  question  and  reply  began. 

THE    COUNT. 

You  have  promised,  Count,  to  give  us  some  par- 
ticulars of  your  life  in  Russia.  Since  you  were  born 
in  Poland,  did  you  serve  in  the  Russian  army  by 
choice? 

"  Poland  being  subject  to  Russia,  I  had  no  choice 
but  to  serve  in  the  Russian  army.  It  would  be  a 
life-long  reproach  to  his  courage  and  patriotism,  if  a 
nobleman, born  in  Poland,  without  physical  deformity, 
and  strong  in  limb  and  wind,  should  fail  to  devote 
some  years  of  his  life  to  military  service.  He 
would  be  stripped  of  his  title  of  nobility,  and  could 
arrive  at  no  personal  distinction  of  an  honorable 
character." 

I  have  always  heard  that  Poland  is  a  nation  of 
soldiers. 

"  It  is  true — the  government  being  controlled  by 
old  soldiers  rather  than  by  statesmen.  Although 
diplomacy  in  foreign  countries  is  studied  as  are  the 
learned  professions;  in  Poland  it  must  be  learned 
through  the  use  of  the  sword,  by  military  rule  and 
suggestion.  A  man  must  at  least  prove  himself  a 
brave  soldier,  before  he  can  serve  the  government  as 
a  diplomatist,  or  in  any  other  capacity." 


INTRODUCTION.  3 

Being  on  the  Emperor's  staff  you  were,  of 
course,  very  near  his  person. 

"Ah,  madam,  many  a  time  have  I  put  him  in  his 
kibitka  and  sent  him  home  more  drunk  than  any 
lord!" 

Was  Alexander  II.  an  agreeable  person  to  be  on 
such  intimate  terms  with? 

"When  sober,  no  man  could  be  kinder,  gentler, 
or  more  humane;  but  when  drunk,  he  was  worse 
than  a  wild  beast,  and  developed  characteristics  which 
made  him  a  terror  to  everybody  near  him.  He 
would  order  a  man's  head  chopped  off  for  the  least 
offence,  or  to  suit  his  drunken  whim,  and  did  not 
mind  standing  by  to  see  the  order  executed,  while 
laughing  in  fiendish  glee  at  the  victim's  terror." 

Then  you  were  not  sorry  to  join  the  Polish  insur- 
rection against  Russia? 

"  It  was  Poland  that  I  loved,  my  own  country,  and 
it  was  my  duty  to  fight  for  her  and  my  pleasure  also. 
We  longed  for  liberty,  and  fought  for  it  desper- 
ately. But  Russia  is  a  powerful  nation,  and  we  were 
outnumbered.  I  was  thrown  into  an  Austrian 
prison,  where  I  remained  four  months  and  was  then 
ordered  to  be  sent  to  Russia.  Knowing  something 
of  what  torture  awaited  me  there,  and  finding  friends 
in  the  prison  who  were  in  communication  with 
friends  outside,  I  determined  to  make  my  escape." 

How  did  you  manage  that? 

"  The  bars  of  my  cell  had  been  cut,  and  hearing 
the  signal  agreed  upon,  I  emerged  from  the  window, 
and  found  it  not  too  difficult  a  matter  to  leap  to  the 
parapet,  then  to  the  bastion,  to  another  parapet,  to  a 


4  MY  horse;  my  love. 

bastion  below,  and  so  on  until  I  had  descended  low 
enough  to  make  the  plunge  into  the  river.  Swim- 
ming about  4,000  yards,  I  reached  the  opposite  side 
just  as  the  signal  gun  gave  voice  that  a  prisoner  had 
escaped." 

And  you  were  not  recaptured? 

"  As  I  reached  the  shore  a  friend  seized  my  hand 
and  ran  with  me  to  a  carriage  in  waiting.  Dry 
clothing,  food,  and  brandy  had  been  provided,  but 
we  tarried  not.  The  good  horses  flew  over  the 
ground  toward  Bavaria,  and  once  over  its  friendly 
borders  I  was  again  a  free  man." 

Did  you  remain  long  in  Bavaria? 

"  Not  long.  As  soon  as  I  had  rested  I  went  to 
vSwitzerland  and  thence  to  Rome." 

In  Rome  you  must  have  felt  quite  safe. 

"  Eternal  watchfulness  is  the  price  of  liberty. 
While  walking  there  one  evening,  I  had  just  turned 
into  a  quiet  street  when  I  was  attacked  by  three 
lazzaroni.  Being  always  armed,  I  quickly  disabled 
two  of  them  with  my  sword,  and  seizing  the  third, 
demanded  of  him  the  writing  which  gave  him  the 
authority  to  pursue  me.  The  beggarly  scoundrel, 
crying  for  mercy,  handed  it  to  me,  when  I  knocked 
him  flat  and  unconscious  with  my  fist ;  just  then  a 
man  came  forward  eagerly  saying:  'Have  you  killed 
him?  then  give  me  back  the  paper!'  It  was  a  Rus- 
sian detective  who  spoke,  whom  I  recognized,  and  I 
determined  not  to  spare  him.  Holding  the  paper 
toward  him,  as  he  put  out  his  hand  to  take  it,  I 
stabbed  him  to  the  heart." 

But  were  you  not  afraid  of  arrest? 


INTRODUCTION.  5 

"  With  my  bloody  sword  in  one  hand,  and  the  paper 
in  the  other,  containing  a  description  of  my  person, 
and  an  order  to  seize  me  dead  or  alive,  I  went  to  the 
police  authorities.  I  showed  them  the  paper,  told 
them  of  the  assault  upon  me,  and  where  they  could 
find  the  dead  body  in  the  street,  and  possibly  the 
three  lazzaroni.  Instead  of  arresting  me,  they 
applauded  my  deed,  allowing  me  to  go  free.  As  I 
was  soon  thereafter  warned  by  Cardinal  Franchi  and 
the  Countess  Odescalchi,  nee  Pototska,  of  noble 
Polish  birth,  of  another  conspiracy  against  me,  I  left 
Rome  for  Paris,  when  my  life  was  again  attempted 
by  a  Russian  spy." 

But  why  should  they  seek  to  kill  you? 

"  The  Russian  detective  has  the  privilege  of  kill- 
ing his  victim  if  he  can  catch  him  in  no  other  way. 
Finding  Napoleon  unfriendly,  or  at  least  indifferent, 
I  returned  to  Switzerland.  Here  I  was  waited  on 
by  emissaries  from  Alexander,  who  offered  to  restore 
to  me  my  entire  property — which  he  had  confiscated 
— and  all  my  other  rights,  if  I  would  swear  to  bend 
the  knee  to  him  and  become  once  more  his  body- 
guard." 

You  liked  the  Emperor,  did  you  not? 

"  Ah,  madam,  the  Russians  are  a  nation  of  liars, 
and  I  loved  my  freedom  too  well  to  put  it  again  in 
jeopardy.  Knowing  that  even  now  these  messengers 
of  the  Emperor  had  secret  power  to  enforce  his  com- 
mands, I  asked  for  a  few  hours  in  which  to  arrange 
some  affairs.  Fancying  that  they  had  met  with  less 
opposition  than  they  expected,  they  readily  and  cour- 
teously acceded  to  my  request.       I  wasted  no  time. 


6  MY  horse;  my  love. 

but  escaping  from  the  house,  reached  the  railroad 
station  just  as  the  fast  train  toward  Liverpool  and 
America  came  in  sight.  My  securities  had  been 
changed  into  gold  which  I  carried  on  my  person, 
and  so,  with  about  sixty  thousand  dollars  and  my 
profession,  I  began  life  in  America  with  a  glad 
heart,  rejoicing  in  the  freedom  which  this  brave  land 
gives  to  all  who  dwell  within  its  boundaries." 

Then  here  you  were,  of  course,  free  from  perse- 
cution? 

"Alas,  no!  Russian  power  and  hostility  are  far- 
reaching,  and  the  secret  spies  of  the  Russian  govern- 
ment have  long  arms.  They  are  ubiquitous,  and  to 
the  shame  even  of  New  York,  be  it  said,  that  within 
that  city  exists  a  secret  agency  for  Russian  spies." 

Is  it  possible  that  anything  so  iniquitous  can  be 
tolerated  in  our  land? 

"  The  fact  can  be  easily  proved.  I  had  not  been 
here  long  before  the  amusing  information  was 
brought  me  that  I  had  been  burned  in  effigy  in 
Russia.  But  when  I  learned  that  my  mother  and 
sister  had  been  imprisoned,  and  finally  put  to  death 
by  strangulation  because,  not  knowing,  they  could 
not  yield  the  secret  of  my  hiding-place,  the  last  link 
that  bound  my  respect  and  alliance  to  Russia  was 
broken,  and  my  heart  knew  its  first  great  sorrow." 

PERSECUTION. 

With  such  a  cruel  memory  of  Russia's  wicked 
revenge,  in  the  slaughter  of  your  mother  and  sister, 
you  must  have  been  glad  to  adopt  America  as  your 


INTRODUCTION.  7 

future  home.  Of  course  no  further  attempts  were 
made  on  your  life  here? 

"  On  the  contrary,  three  separate  times  my  life  has 
been  in  danger  from  Russian  spies,  and  twice  my 
good  dog  has  warned  and  saved  me." 

Was  it  Beppo  who  saved  your  life? 

"  No,  it  was  a  noble  English  pointer,  trained  to 
perfection,  whose  love  for  and  devotion  and  obedi- 
ence to  me  were  priceless,  and  his  death  a  positive 
grief.     Beppo,  though  a  fine  mastiff,  is  not  his  equal. " 

How  did  the  dog  save  your  life? 

"  Shortly  after  my  arrival  in  North  America 
eighteen  years  ago,  the  first  attempt  upon  my  life  in 
this  country  was  made.  I  had  been  reading  until  a 
late  hour,  but  feeling  weary,  finally  turned  off  the 
gas  and  went  to  bed.  The  resting-place  of  my  En- 
glish pointer  at  night  was  at  my  bedside.  Sud- 
denly, through  the  deep  slumber  in  which  I  lay, 
sounded  a  low  ominous  growl,  unusual  enough  to 
startle  me  into  partial  wakefulness.  At  my  command 
the  dog  jumped  on  the  bed,  and  feeling  then  secure,. 
I  closed  my  eyes,  only  to  open  them  again  in  a 
moment,  to  see  a  man  standing  before  me.  In  one 
hand  he  held  up  a  lighted  match,  and  in  the  other  a 
poniard  lifted  high,  and  about  to  descend  with  unerr- 
ing stroke  upon  me.  With  one  bound  my  brave  dog 
was  upon  him,  and  bore  him  to  the  floor;  while,  I, 
in  striving  to  wrench  the  poniard  from  his  hand, 
broke  his  arm." 

The  wretch!  Then  you  were  able  to  secure  him? 

"  I  bound  him  fast,  and  telling  the  dog  to  watch 
him,  dressed  hastily,  and  securing  a  firm  hold  on  my 


8  MY  horse;  my  love. 

midnight  assassin,  marched  him  off  to  the  police 
station.  There  I  told  my  story  of  his  attempt  upon 
my  life  and  saw  my  affidavit  written  down,  while 
in  the  bright  light  I  recognized  a  certain  Russian 
spy  from  the  third  chamber  of  government  detec- 
tives." 

You  mean  to  say  you  recognized  a  spy  from 
Russia  in  a  police  station  in  America? 

"Certainly,  madam." 

Then  they  were  in  collusion  to  take  your  life ! 

"  Doubtless.  Leaving  the  poniard  as  a  proof  and 
witness  against  the  spy,  I  was  told  to  come  in  the 
morning.  Incredible  as  it  may  seem,  when  I  went 
the  next  day,  instead  of  the  ready  recognition  I  had 
every  right  to  expect,  I  was  met  by  the  stolid,  in- 
different question,  *Who  are  you?'  I  answered  the 
query  by  asking  another:  'Where  is  the  man,  the 
murderer,  I  brought  here  last  night  with  a  broken 
arm  and  the  poniard  he  meant  to  slay  me  with?' 
They  vouchsafed  me  no  other  answer  than  'We 
know  nothing  about  him.'  I  asked  for  the  book  in 
which  I  had  seen  the  record  written,  but  only  a 
frayed  edge  of  paper  indicated  where  it  had  been 
torn  out,  and  even  the  blotter  was  destroyed." 

What  did  you  do  and  say? 

"  In  deepest  indignation  I  realized  that  bribery 
and  lies  had  triumphed,  and  that  the  spy  had  been 
allowed  to  escape.  Turning  to  the  officer  I  said, 
'You  see  this  pistol  and  these  cartridges  with  which 
I  load  it,  and  this  knife?  These  arms  I  carry  in 
self-defence,  and  the  next  time  I  bring  you,  not 
broken  bones,  but  a  dead  man. '  " 


INTRODUCTION.  9 

Had  you  at  that  time  been  made  an  American 
citizen  ? 

"  No,  madam.  And  it  was  not  until  I  realized  that 
twice  again  my  life  was  in  danger,  that  I  recognized 
the  importance  of  placing  myself  under  the  protec- 
tion of  this  great  nation." 

Where  else,  and  how  were  you  in  danger? 

"For  a  short  time  I  lived  in  New  Haven,  and 
standing  one  day  in  my  own  grounds  before  my 
door,  I  saw  a  man  enter  the  gate.  He  approached 
me  and,  with  more  politeness  than  one  expects  in  a 
beggar,  he  asked  for  alms.  Although  he  spoke 
Polish,  it  was  with  the  Russian  dialect,  which  be- 
trayed him,  and  my  suspicions  were  at  once  aroused. 
Regarding  him  keenly  I  was  convinced  that  his 
errand  was  not  one  of  mercy,  and  said  to  him:  'You 
beg,  but  your  hands  have  never  worked.  Go  to  the 
kitchen  and  get  your  dinner,  and  here  is  fifty  cents. 
You  see  this  gun  and  this  dog,  and  you  understand 
that  I  know  how  to  protect  myself.  If  you  are  still 
here  after  the  next  train  leaves,  I  will  blow  out  your 
brains!'" 

And  did  this  man  again  attempt  your  life? 

"  Not  this  one,  but  another.  A  few  days  later,  as 
I  watched  some  stone-masons  at  work  on  a  church,  I 
was  struck  by  the  exceeding  awkwardness  of  one  of 
them.  Looking  closer  I  recognized  another  Russian 
detective.  Turning  to  the  master-mason,  I  said: 
'Do  you  know  this  man?'  He  replied:  'No,  but  the 
late  strike  has  made  it  so  hard  for  me  to  get  work- 
men, that  when  this  man  applied  I  employed  him. ' 
When  I  said  to  the  man  in  his  own  language,  'Leave 


10  MY    HORSE;    MV    LOVE. 

this  place  immediately,  or  I  will  shoot  you  dead!' 
he  required  no  further  permission,  and  got  away  in 
a  hurry. " 

Had  you  no  other  clew  to  these  wicked  designs 
than  by  such  as  you  described? 

"  No  other  was  really  necessary.  One  soon  learns 
the  peculiar  methods  of  nations  in  dealing  with  their 
enemies,  and  Russia  does  not  easily  forgive.  The 
unlimited  power  of  the  Czar  must  be  incomprehen- 
sible to  the  inhabitants  of  a  country,  where  freedom 
of  speech,  and  the  liberty  of  the  press,  are  the  inborn 
rights  of  every  citizen;  where  no  secret  fear  of 
unexpected  and  undeserved  captivity  or  punishment 
influences  every  action,  every  thought,  almost  every 
breath  one  breathes,  and  every  dream  one  dreams." 

Has  the  banishment  of  the  Jews  from  Russia  been 
in  any  way  a  matter  of  personal  interest  to  you? 

"None,  except  that  I  have  learned  that  among 
them  is  an  old  servant  of  mine,  and  that  he  is  now 
living  in  Wilkesbarre.  The  immense  population 
of  Russia  was  composed  largely  of  Jews,  and  their 
power  and  influence,  although  a  secret  one,  was 
sufficiently  felt  to  interfere  with,  and  sometimes  inter- 
rupt, the  designs  of  the  government.  The  lower 
classes,  it  is  well  known,  served  the  most  immoral 
purposes  in  the  hope  of  getting  wealth." 

In  what  way  specially? 

"  Many  drinking  dens  of  the  vilest  sort  were  in  the 
hands  and  under  the  control  of  the  Jews,  while  every- 
where they  were  the  acknowledged  receivers  of 
stolen  goods.  Famous  as  successful  horse-thieves, 
their   different  depots  for   the   reception    of   stolen 


INTRODUCTION.  II 

horses  were  long  distances  apart,  but  in  every  hamlet 
and  village  through  which  they  passed  they  were 
sure  of  protection  and  non-betrayal.  Faithful  to 
each  other,  they  were  at  secret  enmity  to  the  rest, 
and  their  great  and  ever-increasing  numbers  made 
their  adverse  influence  one  to  be  dreaded,  in  so 
haughty  and  arrogant  a  nation  as  Russia," 

Then  you  are  not  surprised  at  this  terrible  up- 
heaval in  Russia,  and  the  persecution  of  the  Jews? 

"  Ah,  no !  It  cannot  be  to  me  a  matter  of  astonish- 
ment that  the  Jews  are  finally  expelled  and  forever 
banished  from  Russia  and  Poland." 

But  there  must  be  some  good  men  among  this 
great  army  of  sufferers? 

"Among  them  are  many  good  and  honorable  men, 
and  as  such  they  will  be  recognized  here  and  every- 
where. But  the  edict  had  to  include  all  or  none, 
and  while  the  means  employed  to  banish  them  were 
cruel  and  severe,  Russia  can  shrug  her  shoulders 
and  show  to  the  world,  in  her  disdainful  attitude, 
her  indifference  to  the  opinion  of  all  other  nations." 

Well,  dear  Count,  we  are  not  only  glad  to  wel- 
come you  to  America,  and  to  adopt  you  as  one  of  her 
sons,  but,  even  at  this  late  day,  congratulate  you 
upon  your  escape  from  all  those  wicked  designs,  and 
that  you  still  live  to  tell  about  them. 

*'  Ah,  my  friends,  there  is  no  country  in  all  the 
world  like  America;  and  I  thank  God  every  day  of 
my  life  that  my  steps  were  directed  hither,  and  that 
now  in  my  old  age  I  can  enjoy  the  inestimable  bless- 
ings of  perfect  liberty  of  thought,  and  freedom  of 
action,  which  she  bestows." 


CHAPTER   I. 

VETERINARY    EDUCATION. 

I  SEE  you  have  prepared  a  lecture  for  us  this  even- 
ing, Count,  and  intend  to  tell  us  what  these  figures 
in  plaster-of-paris  mean. 

"  They  represent  the  anatomy  of  a  horse.  I  have 
modelled  them,  for  the  better  understanding  of  breed- 
ers, owning  valuable  animals.  One  outlines  the  mus- 
cular formation,  with  all  the  tendons  and  ligaments; 
while  the  other  is  a  complete  skeleton,  showing 
nature's  marvellous  arrangement  of  bones,  and  the 
working  of  the  intestinal  functions." 

How  very  cleverly  done  they  are! 

**  Well  you  see  that  when  a  horse  is  ill  from  acci- 
dent or  disease,  his  condition  is  better  explained  by 
a  reference  to  the  models.  For  instance,  when  I  was 
called  lately  as  a  witness  in  regard  to  the  soundness 
of  a  horse,  I  could  prove  by  a  drawing  submitted  to 
the  court  the  condition  of  the  horse's  hoofs,  which 
were  separated  from  the  lamina.  The  judge,  com- 
paring the  drawing  with  the  model,  saw  easily  where 
the  difficult}-  lay,  and  gave  a  decision  in  accordance 
with  my  statements." 
.    Where  did  you  study.  Count? 

*'I  have  my  diploma  from  the  Maramonte  College 

12 


VETERINARY     EDUCATION.  I3 

in  Warsaw,  and,  with  the  title  of  colonel,  was  in  the 
Pietro  Pavosky  stud  staif  of  Alexander  II.  of  Russia 
for  many  years." 

Veterinary  surgery  is  considered  an  important 
science? 

*'  In  all  countries  under  military  rule  it  ranks  with 
the  highest  of  the  learned  professions." 

Indeed!  you  know  we  rather  look  down  upon  a 
man  here,  who  can  find  nothing  better  to  do  than  to 
doctor  animals.  One  can  hardly  insult  a  physician 
more,  than  to  ask  him  to  set  a  dog's  broken  leg  or 
otherwise  prescribe  for  him. 

"  Yes,  but  it  is  very  different  in  Europe.  There 
the  veterinary  students  are  taken  from  the  best  of 
the  nobility,  from  the  cleverest  and  best  educated 
sons  of  gentlemen.  In  Russia,  Germany,  Austria, 
and  other  countries  under  military  government, 
horses  are  not  sacrificed,  if  by  any  amount  of  care  and 
attention,  they  can  be  saved.  A  Russian  general 
argues  that  ignorance  is  inexcusable,  where  the  ill- 
ness or  wounds  of  a  horse  are  concerned ;  and  as  fine 
horses  are  scarcer  than  common  soldiers  they  are  well 
taken  care  of. " 

Then  the  soldiers  are  not  of  so  much  account  as 
the  horses  they  ride? 

"  It  is  even  so.  If  a  soldier  or  groom  should  lose 
a  valuable  horse  through  any  neglect  or  oversight, 
he  is  likely  to  pay  the  forfeit  with  his  life!" 

Then  the  course  in  veterinary  science  must  be  a 
very  difficult  one? 

*'  It  is,  indeed,  madam.  The  rules  are  strict,  the 
examinations  very  rigid,  and  it  is  only  after  a  long 


I  I  MY    horse;  MY    LOVE. 

course  of  hard  study  that  a  student  receives  his 
diploma." 

And  in  Europe  a  diploma  is  really  a  necessary 
equipment? 

"  Certainly,  it  is  there,  as  here  in  classical  colleges, 
the  proof  and  reward  of  close  and  serious  study. 
There  are  seven  primary  classes  which  prepare  the 
student  for  practical  work,  which  is  at  first  dis- 
heartening, for  with  all  his  book  knowledge  he  seems 
to  have  nothing  to  start  with.  An  animal  cannot  tell 
his  ailments,  or  where  the  pain  is,  and  the  doctor 
must  find  out  for  himself.  Now,  if  the  student  can 
pass  an  examination  he  may  be  assigned  to  a  place  in 
the  imperial  studs ;  but  at  every  advancement  on  the 
military  staff,  he  must  pass  a  new  examination,  until 
at  the  end  of  five  years,  he  becomes  a  graduate  with 
the  title  of  veterinary  surgeon  and  animal  doctor." 

Is  it  possible  the  course  includes  five  years  of 
hard  study? 

"  No  less  is  sufficient.  In  nearly  all  European 
countries  the  animal  doctor  advances  through  mili- 
tary service,  aided  by  the  close  and  practical  observa- 
tion of  and  association  with  his  own  horses;  attend- 
ing personally  to  their  needs,  even  to  the  blacking 
of  their  hoofs,  albeit  his  servant  may  blacken  his 
Hoots.  The  course  includes  all  that  medical  science 
teaches  whether  of  biped  or  quadruped,  with  feathers 
or  without.  He  must  be  practical  in  everything, 
even  to  the  forging  and  fitting  of  his  horses'  shoes, 
a  most  important  thing  to  know." 

Are  there  many  such  colleges  in  Europe,  and 
which  is  considered  the  best?" 


VETERINARY     EDUCATION.  1 5 

"  The  highest  veterinary  college  for  cattle  is  in 
Switzerland,  and  that  in  England  ranks  next.  But 
in  England  the  college  is  not  under  government  con- 
trol, as  it  is  in  Russia,  Austria,  Germany,  France, 
and  indeed  all  European  countries  under  the  regime 
of  military  law." 

Are  they  not  very  strict  in  those  countries  regard- 
ing meats  and  their  healthy  condition? 

"  Indeed,  yes,  and  it  is  most  important  every- 
where. In  these  countries  there  is  a  veterinary  sur- 
geon on  every  Board  of  Health  to  determine  the 
sanitary  condition  of  suspected  animals,  before  they 
are  butchered.  In  Bavaria  every  hog  is  examined 
by  an  animal  doctor  before  it  can  be  sold,  to  avoid 
trichinosis,  and  since  the  horse  has  been  declared 
good  for  food  the  fact  proves  that  veterinary  science 
has  made  great  strides." 

Then  science  has  proved  that  horse-flesh  is  good 
to  eat? 

"  It  has,  emphatically  so.  Horses  were  formerly 
too  expensive  to  buy  for  post-mortem  examinations. 
Now,  if  a  horse  break  his  leg,  and  so  being  useless 
is  killed;  if,  after  examination  by  a  veterinary,  he 
is  pronounced  healthy,  he  can  be  cut  up  and  eaten. 
The  custom  has  become  too  common  to  convey  an 
idea  of  horror  as  it  once  did.  In  some  cities  there 
are  restaurants,  where  horse-flesh  is  the  only  meat 
provided.  Then  our  daily  accounts  during  the  siege  of 
Paris,  and  the  high  esteem  in  which  horse-meat  was 
there  held,  have  helped  also  to  cure  us  of  this  idea. " 

We  might  then  have  saved  our  shudders,  and  our 
sympathy  for  the  horse-devouring  community. 


1 6  MY  horse;  my  love. 

"  They  could  not  starve  while  having  sound  horse- 
flesh to  live  on.  Three  fourths  of  the  support  of  al- 
most every  countr}' is  supplied  from  the  animal  king- 
dom, which  statement  although  it  may  offer  a  wide 
field  for  argument,  is  not  difficult  of  proof.  To  cite 
an  exception :  in  the  tropical  parts  of  Africa  there  is 
a  fly  so  destructive  to  animal  life  that  only  the  goat 
can  exist  there.  The  men  and  women,  perforce,  are 
beasts  of  burden,  and  travellers  must  walk  and  carry 
their  own  luggage.  In  China,  because  of  the  enor- 
mous population,  only  the  very  rich  can  keep  cattle 
and  horses.  Where  the  population  is  not  so  dense 
the  animal  is  freer,  healthier,  and  tougher,  not 
stronger  nor  more  speedy,  for  a  wild  beast  can 
always  outrun  a  domesticated  animal.  In  the 
Orient  all  animals  that  sweat  only  from  the  tongue 
are  considered  unclean,  while  those  that  sweat  from 
the  pores,  including  horse  and  man,  are  good  for 
daily  food." 

Is  not  that  a  rather  heathenish  distinction? 

"  The  Bible  speaks  of  '  IVi'se  men  from  the  East,  * 
and  in  all  that  pertains  to  mankind  and  animals,  the 
Orientals  have  strict  laws,  founded  on  the  closest 
practical  observation,  which  have  become  an  essen- 
tial part  of  their  religion." 

Then  the  fact  that  men  sweat  from  their  pores  as 
do  horses,  makes  the  excuse  in  the  cannibal's  mind, 
when  he  regales  himself  on  a  particularly  fat  and 
toothsome  missionary? 

"Ah,  madam,  I  fear  religion  plays  a  small  part  in 
the  cannibal's  peculiar  appetite.  He  eats  his  enemies 
with  relish,  his  neighbors  with  the  blackest  hides! 


VETERINARY  EDUCATION.  I7 

Has  not  the  missionary  with  his  dainty  white  skin, 
a  high  courage  to  put  his  tempting  self  within 
reach  of  their  long  arms,  much  as  he  may  wish  to 
convert  them  to  more  civilized  dishes  and  ways?" 

He  has  indeed.  But  to  return,  do  you  find  a 
creditable  amount  of  knowledge  among  the  veter- 
inarians here? 

*'  Until  within  a  comparatively  recent  period  very 
few  have  ever  been  out  of  America,  unless  imported 
from  Europe.  They  did  not  possess  stables  of  their 
own  and  were  mostly  interested  only  as  hired  physi- 
cians-not  as  owners  of  valuable  horses.  The  finest 
racers  in  this  country  come  from  the  least  pretentious 
stables,  as  a  stricter,  closer  personal  attention  is  ex- 
ercised by  the  proprietor,  and  important  needs  are 
not  left  to  the  grooms. " 
2 


CHAPTER   II. 

FACILITIES    FOR    BREEDING    IN    AMERICA. 

Where  do  our  best  horses  come  from  ? 

"  They  are  imported  principally  from  England. 
From  English  thoroughbreds  we  get  our  hunters, 
runners,  trotters,  hackneys,  post  and  cart  horses,  etc. 
Books  have  been  written  upon  the  subject  which 
tell  about  selecting  good  horses  for  breeding  pur- 
poses, but  they  have  not  yet  learned  how  to  get  a 
good  horse  from  poor  parents." 

But  is  that  possible? 

"  Certainly  it  is.  They  understand  the  result  of 
certain  combinations,  but  with  all  the  wonderful 
facilities  in  America,  men  have  yet  to  learn  how  to 
mate  horses,  so  as  to  be  sure  of  securing  one  that  will 
trot  in  two  minutes,  all  the  way  to  one  that  will  trot 
in  1 :5o.  They  do  not  understand  how  to  combine 
the  breeds,  so  that  the  inbred,  so  far,  is  only  occasion- 
ally good.  To  mate  extremes,  such  as  the  Arabian 
with  the  Shetland  pony,  is  not  to  produce  good 
results.  In  mating,  the  mechanical  proportions  of  a 
horse,  together  with  lungs  of  great  volume  and  capa- 
bility, are  of  the  highest  importance  to  consider. 
From  endurance  you  get  the  greatest  speed,  but  from 
the  speediest  horses  never  endurance.       Physiological 

i8 


FACILITIES    FOR    BREEDING    IN    AMERICA.  19 

laws  in  mating  should  be  well  understood.  So, 
instead  of  one  phenomenally  good,  once  in  a  while, 
it  would  be  the  rule  to  secure  always  the  finest 
animals.  In  America  there  is  everything  to  favor 
the  highest  development  to  which  the  horse  can 
attain." 

What  are  the  special  facilities  in  America? 

"  First,  there  is  immense  wealth  and  a  generous 
inclination  to  spend  it ;  second,  the  great  diversity 
of  climate  agrees  with  the  horse,  if  not  always  with 
man ;  and,  third,  food  is  never  lacking,  there  being 
also  a  great  diversity  in  hay,  certain  herbs  growing 
among  the  grass,  which  are  exceedingly  nutritious  and 
delicious  to  the  palate  of  a  horse.  Then  the  country 
is  wide,  the  air  is  pure  and  invigorating," 

You  think  horses  prefer  the  country? 

"They  delight  in  the  open  freedom  of  air  and 
space.  If  living  in  confined  places,  too  close  to  man- 
kind, they  will  contract  similar  diseases,  and  men  will 
also  be  affected  more  or  less  through  contagion." 

Is  it  possible  that  human  beings  have  the  same 
diseases  as  horses? 

"  The  illnesses  of  both  bear  a  close  resemblance, 
though  producing  different  phenomena,  as  in  per- 
sons. Colic  in  horses  is  very  alarming  and  distress- 
ing, and  extremely  dangerous  to  life,  if  not  taken  in 
time.  It  is  far  more  severe  than  in  man,  and  if  not 
speedily  cured  may  make  an  invalid  for  life  of  the 
animal." 

What  medicines  are  used  for  colic? 

*'  Strong  opiates  are  the  surest  remedy.  Sun- 
stroke is  easily  managed,  if  understood,  is  not  at  all 


20  MY  horse;  my  loye. 

uncommon,  being-  frequently  taken   for  blind   stag- 
gers, although  the  symptoms  differ  somewhat." 

What  diseases  are  incurable? 

"  Physical  malformation  and  glanders.  A  horse 
afflicted  \vith  glanders  should  be  shot  more  quickly 
than  you  would  shoot  a  mad  dog.  He  should  be 
buried  deep  with  plenty  of  quicklime  to  cover  him. 
The  disease  is  so  infectious  that  the  flies  carry  it, 
and  with  it  infection  to  human  beings  as  well  as  to 
other  animals.  La  grippe  bears  a  close  resemblance 
to  glanders  though  in  a  much  milder  form,  but  if  a 
man  takes  glanders  from  a  horse  there  is  no  cure  for 
him." 

Are  the  symptoms  easily  recognized? 

''  The  symptoms  of  other  diseases  not  dangerous, 
are  sometimes  similar  to,  and  mistaken  for,  glanders. 
Only  the  other  day,  I  was  called  in  great  haste,  to  see 
seven  valuable  horses,  condemned  to  be  shot  by  the 
attending  veterinary.  As  I  could  not  discover  the 
leading  signs  of  glanders,  I  examined  them  carefully, 
and  could  assure  the  owner  that  they  had  been  un- 
justly condemned." 

He  m.ust  have  been  delighted  to  hear  it. 

"  The  expression  of  relief  on  his  unhappy  face, 
showed  that  Hope  had  entered  into  his  heart.  One 
of  the  horses  had  already  suffered  the  sentence  of 
death,  so  in  order  to  be  sure  he  requested  me  to  make 
a  post-mortem  examination.  I  did  so,  at  once,  and 
finding  no  yellow  spot  on  the  liver,  heart,  kidneys, 
or  other  interior  organs,  I  could  assure  him,  that  his 
fears  were  groundless,  and  that  his  horses  could  be 
cured. " 


FACILITIES    FOR    BREEDING    IN    AMERICA.  2  1 

And  did  they  all  live? 

"  Ah,  yes,  madame.  Every  one  of  them  is  now  at 
work  and  as  well  as  ever. " 

Only  yesterday  I  read  of  a  man  dying  from 
glanders.  He  tried  so  hard  to  cure  his  beautiful 
horse,  but  he  caught  the  disease  and  both  fell  victims. 
Is  it  possible  to  mend  a  broken  leg? 

"  It  depends  somewhat  upon  the  locality  of  the 
break,  and  the  value  of  the  horse.  I  had  a  valuable 
mare  hanging  in  the  'cradle'  for  four  months,  hav- 
ing set  her  leg,  put  it  in  splints,  and  covered  it  with 
a  plaster-of-paris  jacket.  When  the  inevitable  stiff- 
ness had  worn  off  she  trotted  as  well  as  ever ;  but 
the  cure  of  course  required  the  greatest  care,  and 
was  attended  by  very  great  expense  as  well  as  much 
discomfort,  not  suffering,  to  the  mare  on  account  of 
her  enforced  position." 

But  it  was  well  worth  the  trouble,  was  it  not? 
Other  animals  are  always  killed,  I  understand." 

*'  Not  always.  A  year  ago  I  set  the  broken  leg  of 
a  little  calf,  which  has  now  grown  into  a  fine  heifer, 
and  indicates  in  no  way  her  previous  misfortune.  A 
valuable  dog  should  never  be  shot  for  a  broken  leg, 
when  there  is  a  chance  to  save  him.  Many  a  dog's 
leg  I  have  set  and  every  time  have  gained  a  warm, 
true  friend." 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE    SENSE    OF    SMELL    IN    THE    HORSE. 

Of  course,  Count,  you  have  read  what  Madame  de 
Stael  says,  that  "  the  sense  of  smell  is  the  noblest  of 
the  senses."     Is  it  the  keenest  sense  in  the  horse? 

"  While  the  senses  of  sight  and  hearing  are  preter- 
naturally  acute,  even  more  so  than  in  dogs,  the  sense 
of  smell  is  exceedingly  fine.  It  answers  to  the  com- 
bined senses  of  touch,  taste,  and  smell  in  man.  If  a 
horse  can  investigate  an  object  to  his  satisfaction 
with  his  nose,  he  no  longer  fears  it." 

Is  this  true  with  regard  to  the  steam-engine,  that 
bete  7ioir  of  the  horse? 

"  He  may  see  and  hear  a  steam  engine,  and  through 
these  senses  exhibit  fear  and  anxiety  to  get  away 
from  it.  But  if  once  coaxed  close  and  held  firmly 
near  it,  and  made  to  smell  of  it,  he  will  never  show  or 
feel  the  same  fear  again,  and  aided  by  sight  and 
hearing  can  soon  be  broken  to  its  various  manifesta- 
tions of  noise — escaping  steam,  whistle,  and  shriek." 

Then  it  is  important  to  take  him  close  enough  to 
the  locomotive,  to  let  him  smell  it  in  order  to  break 
him  properly? 

"  His  nose  will  convince  him  of  its  harmlessness, 
when  eyes  and  ears  fail." 

How  can  he  conquer  his  fear  of  wild  beasts,  even 

22 


THE    SENSE    OF    SMELL    IN    THE    HORSE.  23 

when  they  are  caged  or  tamed — he  surely  smells 
them? 

*'  To  his  natural  enemies,  even  in  bondage— the 
lion  and  tiger  and  other  carnivorous  animals — he 
manifests  a  strong  aversion;  but  if  his  nose  can  be 
rubbed  with  something  from  their  cages,  even  the 
straw  in  which  they  lie,  he  will  no  longer  fear  their 
terrible  roar  and  will  pass  them  by  in  lofty  indiffer- 
ence. Whether  the  smell  of  the  cage  conveys  the 
idea  of  captivity  it  is  hard  to  tell,  but  these  are 
facts  easily  proved." 

Is  it  not  wonderful  how  horses  seem  to  enjoy  the 
excitement  of  battle? 

"  The  horse  hates  blood,  but  rub  it  on  his  nose, 
as  the  soldiers  sometimes  do  before  going  into  battle, 
and  he  will  no  longer  shun  it.  It  is  the  unexpected 
and  the  unsmelled  that  so  scares  even  the  most  amiable 
animal.  In  his  master  whom  he  loves,  he  places 
wonderful  and  abiding  confidence,  and  appreciates 
the  decision  and  determination  coupled  with  kind- 
ness, that  will  finally  conquer  him.  When  other 
efforts  have  failed  he  will  follow  his  example  and 
will  take  the  plunge  into  deep  water  which  he  has 
refused,  if  his  master  plunge  in  first  and  will  swim 
with  him." 

Ah,  yes!  I  have  read  many  a  traveller's  tale, 
how  he  has  been  saved  from  impending  death  through 
the  simple  discretion,  instinctive  wisdom,  and  more 
than  human  endurance  of  his  horse.  I  am  sure  you 
must  have  many  such  experiences. 

"  I  will  relate  to  you  one,  which  seems  even  to  me 
almost  incredible.      Being  wounded   in   battle,   and 


24  MY  horse;  my  love. 

falling  from  my  horse  unconscious,  the  noble  creat- 
ure seized  my  clothing  in  his  teeth,  and  lifting  me 
from  the  ground,  carried  me  to  a  safe  distance. 
Three  times  in  the  course  of  this  removal  I  recov- 
ered consciousness,  when  he  would  lay  me  down 
again  most  carefully.  Each  time  I  found  myself 
farther  away  from  the  scene  of  battle,  and  at  last 
began  to  revive.  Some  of  my  regiment  had  fol- 
lowed us,  but  brave  Omar  would  allow  nobody  to 
approach  me,  standing  guard  defiantly  over  me, 
until  my  own  servant  arrived. " 

How  dearly  you  must  have  loved  so  noble  an 
animal!  Where  did  you  find  one  of  such  rare  intelli- 
gence? 

"  Omar  11.  was  of  the  pure  Nedj  breed  of  Arabia, 
the  rarest  and  finest  in  all  the  world.  His  father, 
Omar  I.,  I  obtained  by  stratagem  (as  well  as  his 
mother,  Ansha),  leaving  in  his  place  $15,000  in  gold, 
as  these  horses  are  never  bought  or  sold.  Omar  II. 
had  been  my  especial  pet  and  charge  since  his  birth, 
and  a  more  perfect  animal  never  lived." 


CHAPTER  IV. 


NATURE  S    VINAIGRETTE. 


I  HAVE  often  wondered,  Count,  what  the  dry  gray 
warts  on  the  inside  of  each  foreleg  of  the  horse  and 
about  the  size  of  a  silver  dollar  could  be  intended  for. 
They  are  the  only  spot  on  all  his  beautiful  body  that 
could  be  called  unsightly,  and  so  I  questioned  an 
owner  and  breeder  of  fine  horses. 

"And  what  did  he  tell  you?" 

He  said  that  he  had  thought  the  osselets,  for  so 
he  called  them,  a  sort  of  safety-valve  through  which 
the  blood  was  rid  of  its  impurities.  So  when  one  of 
his  horses  had  "  scratches"  he  peeled  off  the  layers 
as  close  as  he  could,  and  watched  the  results.  When 
the  "  scratches"  went  away  he  attributed  the  cure  to 
what  he  had  done,  but  admitted  that  it  may  have 
had  no  influence.  He  thought  also  that  when  the 
horse  rubs  his  nose  against  his  legs  he  may  be  trying 
to  peel  off  the  layers  and  thus  get  relief  from  some 
little  ailment.     Is  this  your  theory  also,  Count? 

"Ah,  madam,  that  is  a  question  that  has  been 
asked  over  and  over  again  by  men  of  science,  of 
deep  practical  learning  and  observation,  without  dis- 
covering any  satisfactory  reply.  I  have  made  experi- 
ments, and  have  come  to  a  conclusion  that  is  bound 
to  meet  with  doubt,  possibly  scorn,  from  those  who 

25 


26  MY    horse;    my     love. 

always  doubt  and  from  the  ig-norant  and  unthinking. 
But  I  am  satisfied  of  the  truth  of  my  discovery." 

Pray  tell  me  about  it,  for  these  osselets  seem  to 
be  of  no  possible  use. 

"  Everybody  who  loves  horses  and  observes  their 
ways,  will  have  noticed  that  after  a  long  and  fatiguing 
journey,  or  sustained  and  tiresome  work,  the  horse 
will  rub  his  nose,  first  on  the  inside  of  one  foreleg  and 
again  on  the  other,  tossing  his  head  meanwhile, 
throwing  it  about  and  taking  long  deep  breaths  of 
relief  and  satisfaction." 

Yes,  I  have  very  often  noticed  it. 

"  I  believe  that  Nature  has  furnished  to  our  domes- 
tic slave  the  noblest  of  all  God's  brute  creation,  her 
vinaigrette  and  restorative.  When  the  weary,  over- 
taxed animal,  sweating  at  every  pore,  and  covered 
with  foam,  can  reach  down  and  rub  with  his  wet 
nose,  this  always  dry  hard  substance,  he  is  instantly 
refreshed  with  an  odor  like  that  of  geranium.  Toss- 
ing his  head  with  delight,  and  sniffing  perceptibly, 
he  applies  again  and  again  his  wet  nose  to  thisboim- 
tiful,  secret,  and  cunningly  arranged  restorative,  and 
is  thus  fortified  and  strengthened  sufficiently  to  re- 
sume his  journey." 

And  have  you  really  tested  this  wonderful  theory 
to  3^our  own  satisfaction? 

"  To  test  my  belief  I  removed  from  one  of  my 
horses  these  warts  in  the  foreleg  over  which  the 
skin  grew  healthily,  but  the  horse  never  showed  the 
same  endurance,  and  his  value  was  diminished  by 
half.  In  another  case  when  I  experimented,  an 
eruption  broke  out  over  the  healing  wound,  and  the 


NATURE  S     VINAIGRETTE.  2^ 

poor  animal  soon  grew  so  lame  and  useless  that  he 
had  to  be  shot,  a  sacrifice  to  science.  These  two 
experiments  were  sufficient,  I  think,  to  test  the  won- 
derful truth  of  what  I  have  said.  By  wetting  the 
fingers  and  rubbing  them  on  these  dry  warts  the 
unmistakable  odor  of  geranium  thus  generated  must 
carry  conviction  to  the  most  unbelieving." 

Is  it  the  same  whether  in  horses  of  pure  or  impure 
breeding  and  blood? 

''  The  higher  the  breed  and  the  purer  the  blood, 
the  more  pronounced  is  the  odor;  and  small  osselets 
indicate  fine  breeding.  The  native  Arabian  in  his 
swift  and  never-ending  journey ings  to  and  fro  in 
the  scorching  heat  of  the  unprotected  desert,  with 
scant  food  and  most  limited  supplies  of  water,  draws 
constant  stimulant  from  this,  Nature's  nosegay; 
and  the  weary  cavalry  horse,  on  forced  marches,  lets 
his  head  droop  lower  and  lower  to  catch,  perchance, 
one  more  whiff  of  the  grateful  and  sustaining  odor." 

Your  argument  would  be  a  powerful  one  against 
the  bearing-rein,  but  are  other  animals  similarly 
provided? 

"  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  in  natural  history  that 
every  race,  whether  of  man  or  beast,  and  every- 
thing that  has  life,  which  grows  in  or  from  the 
ground,  is  distinguished  by  its  own  peculiar  odor. 
This  odor  is  agreeable  or  not,  according  to  its  deli- 
cacy or  the  strength  to  which  it  is  developed. " 

And  has  it  a  similar  purpose? 

"  In  many  cases  it  is  bestowed  by  Nature's  wonder- 
ful forethought,  as  a  means  of  offense  or  defense,  and 
many  animals  carry  with  them  a  well-supplied  vinai- 


28  MY  horse;  my  love. 

grette  which,  in  times  of  exhaustion,  they  turn  to  and 
inhale  exceeding  refreshment  therefrom.  In  some 
the  odor  is  perceptible  to  themselves  only,  while  in 
others  it  is  such  a  powerful  means  of  defense  as  to 
make  the  pursuing  victim  wish  he  had  never  been 
born,  which  floods  cannot  drown  nor  fires  quench,  if 
any  part  escape,  and  only  six  feet  of  earth  can  extin- 
guish." 

I  know  of  one,  are  there  others? 

"  Notably  among  these  is  the  musk  antelope, 
which  sends  forth  such  a  powerful  odor  of  musk  that 
even  at  the  distance  of  one  hundred  yards  he  can 
smother  his  enemy  to  death. " 

Is  musk  never  made  from  plants? 

"  Musk  is  entirely  an  animal  perfume,  and  is 
contained  in  a  bag  situated  near  the  perineum, 
which,  by  muscular  contraction  or  expansion,  the 
animal  can  control  at  will.  Experienced  hunters 
know  that  when  shooting,  even  at  longest  rifle  range, 
a  musk  antelope  or  a  mountain  goat,  if  the  wind  be 
blowing  toward  them  from  the  animal,  they  must 
immediately  drop  and  bury  their  faces  in  the  ground, 
or  the  last  effort  of  the  expiring  animal  will  carry  to 
them  also  certain  death." 

What  accounts  for  the  very  perceptible  odor  of 
musk  in  some  churches  in  Europe? 

"  In  Constantinople  the  Mohammedan  Mosque  of 
Sofia  is  pervaded  always  by  a  strong  smell  of  musk. 
In  order  to  supply  this  perfume,  which  was  freely 
mixed  with  the  mortar  and  cement  which  bound 
together  the  stones,  thousands  upon  thousands  of  the 
musk  antelopes  were  slaughtered.     Thus,  while  one 


NATURE  S    VINAIGRETTE.  29 

Stone  is  left  upon  another  of  this  ancient  and  inter- 
esting building,  the  odor  of  musk  must  remain  to 
refresh  or  to  annoy  its  visitors,  according  as  the  sense 
is  affected." 

Has  musk  not  some  medicinal  qualities? 

"  Taken  internally  after  being  dissolved  in  water, 
the  substance  of  this  little  bag  is  said  to  be  an  excel- 
lent specific  for  pulmonary  diseases.  It  is,  too,  a 
well-known  fact  that  the  negroes  of  the  South  value 
highly — and  are  not  deterred  by  the  necessarily  close 
and  nauseous  proximity  to  obtain  it — the  substance 
of  the  pole-cat  as  a  sure  cure  for  rheumatism  as  well 
as  for  coughs  and  colds. " 

Then  the  odor  of  musk  belongs  to  many  animals? 

"  Musk  is  probably  the  most  common  of  animal 
perfume,  or  at  least  the  one  which  we  are  best  able 
to  recognize.  The  muskrat,  inhabiting  our  own  ponds 
and  ditches,  is  greatly  in  demand  by  the  compounder 
of  perfumes,  and  it  is  a  species  of  jollification  to 
hunt  them,  which  dogs  and  negroes  enter  into  with 
excited  zest.  In  all  thoroughbred  cattle  there  is  a 
small  cavity  in  the  head,  immediately  between,  and 
at  the  root  of,  the  horns.  By  rubbing  the  fingers  in 
this  cavity  a  distinct  odor  of  musk  will  be  perceptible 
in  them." 

How  in  this  position  can  it  refresh  the  animal? 

"That  is  Nature's  secret,  betrayed  only  to  the 
owner  of  it." 

Have  I  not  heard  that  beavers  betray  themselves 
by  a  peculiar  odor? 

"  Yes,  beavers  emit  an  odor,  well  known  to  hunters 
of  them,  in  which  it  seems  that  Nature  cruelly  favors 


3©  MY    HORSE;    MY    LOVE, 

their  enemies.  The  poor  little  industrious  creatures, 
so  valuable  for  their  pretty  fur,  fancying  themselves 
secure  in  their  hidden  dams,  reveal  by  this  freak  of 
Nature  their  hiding-places,  and  thus  become  easy 
victims  to  covetous  man. " 

Are  not  foxes  an  easier  prey  for  the  same  reason? 

"When  the  hunted  fox  is  sore  bested  and  the 
hounds  are  gaining  upon  him  steadily  and  surely,  he 
will  be  seen  suddenly  to  turn  himself  round  and 
round,  v^^ith  bewildering  rapidity,  and  with  his  head 
and  tail  in  close  proximity.  After  several  of  these 
revolutions,  he  makes  a  sudden  spurt  and  soon  gains 
a  great  advantage  of  distance  between  himself  and 
his  pursuers ;  and  if  luck  be  with  him  he  may  escape. 
Many  a  huntsman  through  a  long  life  has  chased  the 
fox  with  enthusiastic  ardor,  who  would  be  surprised 
to  know,  that  in  the  very  tip  of  his  tail  or  brush  is  a 
little  bunch  of  hairs,  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  in 
number,  which  gives  forth  to  the  despairing  and 
almost  vanquished  beast,  the  refreshing  and  stimu- 
lating odor  of  violets." 

How  very  wonderful ! 

"With  this  choice  vinaigrette  of  Nature's  furnish- 
ing the  hunted  creature  is  sustained. " 

Then  this  simple  fact  may  explain  why  the  hunters 
return  in  such  unsatisfied  humor? 

"  Ah,  I  have  laughed  to  hear  them  making  the  air 
blue,  with  vengeful  threats  against  the  sly  old  fellow 
never  yet  run  to  earth,  and  who  again  and  again  has 
outwitted  them. " 

But  does  not  the  fact  help  the  hounds  also? 

"  Doubtless  the  hounds  with  their  keen  scent,  fol- 


NATURE  S     VINAIGRETTE.  31 

low  with  delight  this  delicious  perfume,  and  find  it 
an  added  incentive  to  their  murderous  designs. 
Deprive  a  fox  of  his  brush  and  let  him  go,  and  the 
subsequent  sport  of  catching  him  will  be  of  very 
short  duration ;  for  his  run  will  soon  come  to  an  end, 
and  the  whole  pack  of  huntsmen  and  hounds  will  be 
in  at  the  death." 

Madame  de  Stael's  idea  of  the  sense  of  smell  may 
have  been  founded  on  some  such  knowledge,  and  she 
may  have  had  a  long  nose  as  well  as  a  large  foot. 

"  How  so,  madam?" 

You  have  heard  of  Talleyrand's  retort  at  the 
masked  ball  when  she  challenged  him  for  recogni- 
tion: "  C'est  Men  facile  de  reconnaitre  la  statue  par  le  pied 
de  Staei:"^ 

"Ah,  I  remember,  but  it  was  a  cruel  thrust  of 
Talleyrand's." 

*  It  is  very  easy  to  recognize  the  statue  by  the  (pedestal)  foot  of  Stael 


CHAPTER  V. 


ARABIA. 


Your  visits  to  Arabia  must  have  been  very  inter- 
esting, Count!     Have  you  been  there  often? 

"Ah,  yes,  madam,  many  times.  I  have  lived 
among  the  Arabs  in  their  tents  for  months  at  a  time, 
travelling  with  them  in  their  journeyingsfrom  place 
to  place;  penetrating  into  the  very  depths  of  the 
desert,  and  longing  with  them  for  the  sight  of  an 
oasis  after  the  intense  heat  of  the  day." 

Then  you  speak  their  language? 

"That  goes  without  saying,  and  many  of  their 
dialects  also,  which  are  important  to  know." 

Had  you  any  special  object  beyond  the  love  of 
travel,  to  induce  you  to  spend  so  much  time  with 
them,  and  were  they  always  friendly? 

*'  To  me  they  were  always  friendly,  for  the  reason 
that  some  of  their  remote  ancestors  were  mine  also, 
and  with  them  nothing  is  so  strong  as  the  ties  of 
blood.  Their  pride  of  race  is  one  of  their  strongest 
characteristics,  since  they  can  trace  back  their  ances- 
try for  thousands  of  years.  For  aliens  and  strangers 
they  have  a  certain  contemptuous  pity,  as  not  belong- 
ing to  them,  as  well  as  much  distrust  and  suspicion." 

I  have  heard  the  old  adage,  "  In  the  desert  no  one 
meets  a  friend. " 

32 


ARABIA.  33 

"  Yes,  it  is  one  they  verify  daily,  unless  the  rites 
of  hospitality  have  already  been  offered,  and  bread 
has  been  broken  with  the  stranger  in  the  'tents  of 
Shem.  *  But  they  have  certain  unmistakable  signs  to 
show  that  their  entertainment  is  at  an  end,  and  no 
hesitation  then  in  declaring  themselves  at  enmity." 

Are  their  manners  agreeable? 

"The  sheiks  have  a  grave  and  haughty  dignity  in 
their  bearing,  and  polished  manners,  so  affable  that 
they  can  quickly  secure  the  attachment  of  neighbor- 
ing tribes.  Gifted  with  a  courage  never  yielding 
and  never  dying,  they  are  also  born  traders,  and 
soon  acquire  great  influence  in  their  surroundings." 

You  must  have  made  opportunities  to  learn  every- 
thing possible  about  their  famous  horses? 

"  My  object  in  visiting  the  Arabs  was  always  to 
purchase  horses,  and  while  I  was  prepared  for  trickery 
and  even  treachery  in  their  dealings,  I  succeeded, 
even  if  stratagem  were  the  means.  They  knew  I 
was  not  to  be  deceived  easily,  and  the  remote  ties  of 
consanguinity  had  its  influence." 

How  do  they  deal  with  strangers? 

"  If  a  man  comes  armed  with  wealth  and  might, 
desiring  to  purchase  a  favorite  horse,  the  Arab  will 
plunge  into  the  desert,  inaccessible  except  to  the 
native,  and  there  hide  himself  and  his  horse  until 
the  danger  of  losing  him  is  past.  But  if  the  intend- 
ing purchaser  brings  only  money,  he  had  better  have 
stayed  at  home,  for  the  Arab  will  first  kill  and  then 
plunder  him.  They  are  notorious  highwaymen  and 
the  laws  of  their  country  shield,  rather  than  punish 
such  misdoings. " 
3 


34  MY  horse;  my  love. 

It  is  said  that  Arabian  horses  have  deteriorated, 
Count.     Can  it  be  true? 

"  Indeed,  no.  It  is  impossible  for  the  true  Arab 
horse  to  deteriorate  so  long  as  the  Arab  tribes  follow 
the  same  laws,  and  so  jealously  guard  their  rare  breeds 
from  loss  by  sale  or  theft." 

But  we  are  said  to  have  many  Arabian  horses  here 
in  Europe  and  South  America? 

"  They  have  a  race  of  horses  called  the  Levantine, 
which  they  offer  in  exchange  for  money  and  mer- 
chandise. These  horses  have  excellent  points,  are 
showy,  handsome,  well-trained,  and  in  every  way 
desirable,  but  they  no  more  compare  with  the  true 
Arab  breeds  than  a  clumsy  cart-horse  to  the  swift 
runner. " 

Are  there  many  distinct  breeds? 

"  There  are  but  five,  and  every  one  entirely  differ- 
ent and  with  distinctive  marks.  Those  most  highly 
prized,  most  rare  and  valuable  are  the  Nedj  and 
Osman.  The  other  three,  the  Abdalla,  Mohammed, 
and  Dakir,  although  of  blood  as  pure  and  as  impos- 
sible to  obtain  by  purchase,  have  not  the  same  match- 
less beauty. " 

But  were  not  the  horses  presented  to  General  Grant 
thoroughbred  Arabs? 

"There  are  many  conflicting  opinions  regarding 
these  horses,  and  their  claim  to  being  the  thorough- 
bred Arabs  of  the  desert.  It  was  thought  they  must 
be  so  because  they  were  presented  by  the  Sultan,  but 
if  you  asked  an  Arab  he  would  tell  you  the  Sultan 
never  owned  one  of  these  rare  breeds,  and  never  had 
one  in  his  stables." 


ARABIA.  35 

Have  you  ever  seen  Leopard,  or  Linden  Tree, 
whose  arrival  in  this  country  made  such  a  sensation? 

"  No,  madam,  and  never  having  seen  them  I  cannot 
express  any  opinion.  Among  horsemen  in  Europe 
who  study  the  different  breeds,  it  is  believed 
they  belonged  to  the  Levantine  family,  being  showy, 
stylish,  strong,  and  with  many  fine  points." 

Have  you  any  other  reason  for  believing  so? 

"  As  I  have  said  before,  these  rare  breeds  which  I 
have  mentioned,  are  considered  so  precious  that 
every  precaution  is  taken,  not  only  by  the  owners, 
but  by  the  whole  tribe,  to  prevent  their  loss,  by 
sale  or  intrigue.  The  Arabs,  with  all  their  peculiar 
creeds  of  hospitality,  have  never  arrived  at  that 
state  of  civilization  which  could  induce  them  to  give 
away  such  treasures.  If  an  owner  should  be  tempted 
by  an  enormous  price  to  part  with  a  mare  or  stallion 
— there  are  no  geldings — he  would  be  put  to  death  by 
his  tribe,  while  the  man  who  had  the  temerity  to 
seek  such  a  purchase,  must  do  so  at  the  risk  of  his  life. " 

They  must  take  peculiar  measures  to  prevent 
their  loss. 

"  Every  horse  lives  inside  his  owner's  tent  and  is 
the  pet  and  delight  of  the  women  and  children,  and 
quite  as  much  a  part  of  the  family.  Their  intelli- 
gence is  almost  human,  as  they  answer  in  obedience 
to  every  word,  and  are  so  trained  as  to  help  their 
owners  in  defeating  any  attempt  to  carry  them  off." 

The  endurance  of  the  Arab  horse  is  very  remark- 
able, I  have  heard,  Count. 

"  It  is  almost  inconceivable.  From  the  days  when 
Noah's  ark  settled  on  Mount  Aararat  and  his  sons 


36 


MY  horse;  my  love. 


ARABIA.  37 

descended  to  the  plains  of  Shinar,  or  from  those  of 
Nimrod,  his  great-grandson,  the  'mighty  hunter,' 
down  to  the  present  day,  the  Arab  has  been  bred  to 
endure  long  days  of  continuous  toil,  semi-starvation, 
and  thirst." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

FAMOUS    ARABIAN    HORSES. 

I  HAVE  heard  the  saying,  "  Never  let  an  animal  lose 
its  sucking  flesh." 

"Yes,  it  is  an  axiom  with  English  breeders.  The 
Arab  foal,  on  the  contrary,  while  it  may  enjoy  for 
the  first  few  months  of  its  young  life,  the  pastures 
and  watered  plains  of  'Araby  the  blest,'  endures 
great  privations.  Its  tender  little  feet  must  trot 
along  after  its  mother  on  many  a  forced  march,  sub- 
sisting on  the  scantiest  of  fare,  and  esteeming  a  little 
camel's  milk  the  greatest  of  luxuries.  These  are 
hardships  for  the  baby  Arab,  not  lightened  by  the 
fierce  and  perpendicular  rays  of  the  sun  on  his  head 
and  spine,  and  the  blistering  sands  under  his  feet." 

One  cannot  wonder  that  his  growth  is  somewhat 
stunted,  for  Arabs  are  small,  are  they  not? 

"Yes,  they  are  small;  but  what  the  Arab  lacks  in 
grandeur  of  physique,  as  seen  in  the  English  thor- 
oughbred, the  Percheron,  or  the  enormous  coach 
horses  now  so  fashionable,  he  makes  up  in  his  per- 
fect proportion,  his  proud  and  dainty  and  graceful 
mien  and  bearing,  his  never-failing  courage,  his 
iron  constitution,  his  delightful  temper  and  disposi- 
tion,  his  entire   soundness,    and  his   extraordinary 

38 


FAMOUS    ARABIAN    HORSES.  39 

ability  to  travel  great  distances  with  untiring 
speed." 

The  last  quality  is  a  necessary  one,  when  you  are 
running  away  with  somebody  else's  property,  eh, 
Count? 

"  Ah,  I  see  you  refer  to  Omar  I.  He  was  famous, 
and  now  belongs  to  the  Empress  of  Austria,  the 
finest  horsewoman  in  Europe.  For  three  days  and 
nights  he  travelled  over  the  hot  and  barren  plains  of 
the  Arabian  desert  with  but  two  quarts  of  barley  for 
food,  and  an  occasional  tuft  of  the  Sahara  clover. 
Only  twice  was  there  water  found  for  him  to  drink. 
Fleet  as  a  bird  he  ran,  seemingly  unconscious  of  his 
burden,  and  arrived  at  the  wall  before  Cairo,  appar- 
ently as  fresh  as  when  he  started.  The  two  Slughi, 
enormous  greyhounds  called  antelope  catchers, 
which  were  a  part  of  Omar's  outfit,  always  travelling 
with  him,  were  lagging  many  rods  behind,  footsore 
and  utterly  bested.  But  Omar  neighed  cheerfully, 
encouraging  them  to  approach,  and  promising  to 
them,  rest  and  refreshment  in  his  sympathetic  whin- 
nies." 

Oh,  pray  describe  him.  He  must  have  been  won- 
derful to  look  at ! 

"  His  skin  was  black,  and  shone  through  a  fine 
glossy  coat  of  silver-gray  hair;  his  mane  full  and 
long,  and  his  tail,  which  swept  the  ground,  were 
pink.  About  fifteen  hands  high,  in  form  the  most 
beautiful  that  can  be  imagined  in  any  four-footed 
animal,  he  was  fleet  as  the  wind,  graceful  as  the 
antelope,  trained  to  every  agile  movement,  and  with 
an  endurance  inconceivable.     In  disposition  faultless, 


40  MY  horse;  my  love. 

kind,  gentle,  caressing,  and  obedient,  he  had  never 
known  whip  or  spur,  or  even  a  harsh  word,  giving 
always  the  best  he  knew." 

Does  he  still  live? 

"  He  was  alive  when  last  I  heard,  having  carried 
the  Empress  of  Austria  during  her  journeyings 
through  Ireland.  He  is  now  forty  years  old,  and 
still  in  his  prime,  as  the  Arab  horses  are  as  long- 
lived  as  a  man. " 

Do  they  make  good  war-horses? 

"  In  battle,  their  extraordinary  evolutions  remind 
one  of  the  gyratory  movements  of  the  swallow  when 
it  flies.  They  turn  and  wheel  with  such  rapidity, 
that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  get  a  shot  at  them,  and 
if  they  run,  nothing  can  catch  them,  their  wonderful 
wisdom  and  cunning  leading  them  and  their  riders 
out  of  difficulties  the  most  serious." 

Where  are  they  found? 

"In  Mecca,  Medina,  Palestine,  and  the  Persian 
Gulf  are  found  the  Nedj  and  Osman.  They  have 
the  Abdalla  race  in  the  Atlas  Mountains,  as  well  as 
between  Afghanistan  and  the  Persian  Mountains, 
where  live  also  the  Dakir  and  Mohammed  breeds. 
These  horses  descend  as  heirlooms  from  father  to 
son,  and  no  possession  is  so  precious  as  these  exqui- 
site animals." 

They  also  can  prove  a  long  ancestry? 

"  Their  pedigree  is  carefully  preserved  with  that 
of  the  family's  own,  and  their  names  descend  as  do 
those  of  the  generations  of  kings.  Sometimes  many 
or  all  the  members  of  a  tribe  will  be  each  a  part 
sharer  in  a  horse,  and  this  horse  is  left  by  will  to  a 


FAMOUS    ARABIAN    HORSES.  4 1 

successor.  One  cannot  sell  his  share  without  permis- 
sion from  the  rest,  be  he  ever  so  much  in  need;  and 
it  must  be  a  most  unusual  circumstance  which  could 
gain  such  permission." 

Is  there  not  some  strange  legend  concerning  Ara- 
bian horses,  Count? 

"  Yes,  and  it  is  said  to  be  a  true  one.  The  legend 
is  this:  During  the  reign  of  Mohammed  he  sent  his 
grand  vizier  with  his  army  in  the  hope  of  conquer- 
ing China.  For  five  years  they  travelled  over  moun- 
tain and  valley,  through  forest  and  desert,  climbing 
rocky  precipices  to  descend  on  the  other  side  into 
the  rivers  and  streams.  Unparalleled  hardships 
befell  them  on  their  long  journey  thither  and  were 
not  lightened  on  their  return,  inasmuch  as  every 
horse  died  on  the  road  except  five  beautiful  mares. 
From  these  and  the  Dzigguetai  (pronounced  Gigati) 
are  descended  the  five  rare  breeds  so  closely  guarded 
by  the  Arab  tribes." 

What  are  the  Dzigguetai? 

"  They  are  the  wild  Arabian  stallions  of  the  desert, 
outmatching  and  outwitting  the  wary  and  cunning 
Arab  in  his  various  devices  to  approach  them,  never 
letting  them  get  nearer  than  half  a  mile.  After  ex- 
hausting every  other  artifice,  the  Arabs  have  lain 
concealed  in  the  desert  by  being  buried  in  the  sand 
for  days  and  nights,  in  their  fruitless  efforts  to 
secure  them.  But  these  untamed  and  untamable 
creatures,  with  their  intelligent  instinct,  ever  scented 
danger  from  afar,  and  kept  their  half-mile  distance 
between  themselves  and  their  would-be  captors. 
Their  strength  and  endurance  are  greater  than  that 


42  MY  horse;  my  love. 

of  the  Mohari,  the  desert  camel,  and  they,  are  far 
more  fleet.  These  powerful  runners  brook  no  rider, 
no  whip,  spur,  or  bridle,  nor  have  they  ever  been 
captured  or  broken  by  man." 

How,  then,  could  they  be  made  useful? 

"  In  this  dilemma  it  occurred  to  the  far-seeing 
Arabian,  that  this  race  could  at  least  be  perpetuated 
and  improved,  by  arranging  some  equine  marriages. 
Picketing  the  five  beautiful  mares  near  their  hunt- 
ing-grounds, they  were  offered  as  brides  to  the 
Dzigguetai  and  accepted.  The  result  gave  every- 
thing most  valued  in  the  horse,  as  well  as  his  match- 
less beauty." 

Do  they  differ  greatly  in  color  and  appearance? 

"  The  Nedj  and  Osman  have  always  a  black  skin 
under  their  coat,  whether  it  be  white  or  black.  The 
Osman  is  usually  the  color  of  a  golden  chestnut  or 
blood  cherry,  with  dark  mane  and  tail,  while  these 
equipments  in  the  Nedj  are  pink  or  rose-colored. 
The  Abdallah  are  a  warm  gray,  inclining  to  black, 
with  dark  mane  and  tail — the  Arabian  term  to  ex- 
press their  color,  translated,  meaning  green.  The 
Mahomet  is  light  brown  or  cafi^  au  lait  in  color, 
sometimes  dark  enough  to  be  called  bay.  The 
Dakir  is  a  dark  shining  brown,  and  the  manes  and 
tails  of  all  are  long,  fine,  and  full,  but  not  heavy." 

Do  they  wear  shoes  ?  A  great  traveller,  one  who  had 
lived  in  South  America,  and  there  owned  Arabian 
horses,  told  me  they  were  never  shod  in  that  country. 

"As  their  hoofs  are  hard  as  iron  they  need  no 
shoes,  and  die  at  an  advanced  age  without  having 
ever  worn  them. " 


FAMOUS    ARABIAN    HORSES.       .  43 

What  are  the  distinguishing  marks  by  which  one 
can  tell  an  Arabian? 

"  The  pure  bred  Arab  is  small,  with  such  fineness 
of  skin  that  through  it  the  veins  can  be  clearly- 
traced.  The  head  is  small  and  lean,  with  bold  open 
nostrils,  thin  as  cardboard.  Very  broad  between 
the  eyes,  which  are  large  and  soft,  and  look  at  you 
with  an  expression  of  human  intelligence.  Ears 
small  and  erect,  fine  and  thin  as  a  kid  glove.  Mane 
full  and  long,  not  heavy.  Tail  almost  touching 
the  earth  when  standing,  but  lifted  out  when  in 
motion,  and  waving  to  and  fro  like  an  ostrich  plume. 
Thighs,  fore  and  hind,  immense.  The  frontal  bone 
below  the  knees  very  slender  and  round  like  a  finger 
when  viewed  from  the  front ;  from  the  side  it  appears 
wide  and  muscular.  Hoofs  very  small,  hard,  and  pol- 
ished. Height  from  fourteen  to  fifteen  hands. 
Gait  an  even  stretching  gallop,  which  never  trem- 
bles and  never  tires,  sure-footed  as  a  mule,  and  ten- 
der-tempered as  a  baby. " 

Your  description  is  enchanting,  but  only  convinces 
me  that  I  have  never  seen  a  thoroughbred  Arab.  Is 
there  no  more  to  be  told  of  the  Dzigguetai,   Count? 

**  I  had  a  convincing  experience  that  they  can 
travel  from  two  to  three  hundred  miles,  in  twefe« 
consecutive  hours,  in  order  to  drink  from  a  certain 
clear  cold  spring  in  one  of  the  oasis,  and  to  feed  on 
the  dainty  nourishing  grass  there." 

O  Count,  that  seems  incredible ! 

"  I  realize  that  the  statement  sounds  most  exagger- 
ated, and  I  myself  could  hardly  believe  that  flesh  and 
blood  could  equal  the  locomotive's  speed.     I  have 


44  MY  horse;  my  love. 

lain  concealed  with  the  Arabs  behind  the  rocks  and 
buried  up  to  my  neck  in  sand,  hoping  they  might 
thus  approach  us  more  nearly.  »Stationed  at  a  certain 
oasis  in  the  desert,  over  loo  miles  distant,  v^^ere  men 
to  note  the  time  of  their  arrival  there.  How  they 
flew  past  us  in  the  half-mile  distance!  It  was  like 
watching  an  express  train  disappearing  from  view, 
while  the  thunder  of  their  many  hoofs  scarce  lasted 
longer  than  the  roar  of  a  passing  train !  They  had 
method  in  their  going,  and  a  leader  whom  they  fol- 
lowed. Their  bellies  hugged  the  ground,  as  their 
slender  legs  carried  them  on  with  long  strides  and 
an  easy  motion,  in  which  there  was  no  haste,  but 
immense  untiring  speed,  and  infinite  lightness  and 
grace.  For  twelve  hours  we  waited  and  watched  for 
their  return,  and  were  finally  rewarded  by  hearing 
approach  the  sound  of  their  many  hoofs,  and  could 
see  them  fly  past  us  with  undiminished  speed,  on 
their  return.  My  men  stationed  so  far  off  had  noted 
there,  carefully,  the  time  of  their  arrival.  By  com- 
paring it  witTi  that  of  their  return,  which  I  witnessed, 
1  make  no  exaggeration  in  my  statement.  To  be 
still  more  sure  I  tested  these  facts  many  times." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

PEDIGREE    OF    ARABIAN     HORSES. 

Have  I  not  heard,  Count,  that  the  true-bred  Arab 
has  concealed  marks  by  which  to  be  identified? 

"On  every  Arab,  born  and  reared  in  the  desert 
and  belonging  to  the  families  mentioned,  are  to  be 
seen  certain  fine  marks,  intelligible  only  to  the 
initiated.  When  the  colt  is  young  a  very  fine  hot 
iron,  like  a  needle,  is  made  to  write  certain  marks 
and  lines  on  the  forelegs,  to  the  right  and  left  of  the 

o 

breast,    something   like   this,  ^  but    differing    on 

either  side." 

Is  it  not  a  painful  operation? 

"  No,  for  it  is  done  too  quickly  to  be  very  painful. 
Several  of  these  needles  are  heated  at  the  same 
time,  in  burning  camel's  manure.  One  is  taken  up, 
a  stroke  or  two  made  with  it,  and  replaced  in  the 
heated  mass.  Then  another  is  used  and  so  on,  until 
the  delicate,  but  perceptible  branding  is  finished. 
The  skin  heals  rapidly,  and  the  young  colt  carries 
the  long  list  of  his  ancestors  about  with  him,  for  the 
rest  of  his  natural  life." 

But  does  not  the  hair  grow  over  and  cover  these 
slight  marks? 

"  The  hair  never  grows  long  enough  to  cover  them 
45 


46  MY  horse;  my  love. 

entirely:  hence,  by  the  uninitiated,  and  even  by 
travellers  and  horsemen  who  should  know  better, 
they  have  been  called  'blemishes,'  and  'disfiguring 
marks. '  An  Arab's  first  glance  at  a  horse  is  for  these 
important  signs.  The  more  marks  the  horse  has  the 
longer  his  pedigree,  and  the  more  he  is  to  be  coveted. 
The  blood  has  been  kept  pure  for  so  many  centuries, 
that  any  stain  in  it  derived  from  possible  cross- 
breeding, would  be  considered  ineradicable  forever. 
I  will  show  you  the  picture  of  Gherka,  an  exqui- 
site Arab,  whom  I  owned  many  years  ago,  and  who 
was  shot  under  me  in  battle." 

But  she  has  marks  on  her  flanks  also!  ^ 

"Certainly!  That  on  the  hind  flank  represents 
her  family,  which  was  Nedj.  The  one  on  the  shoul- 
der signifies  the  province,  Oran,  where  she  was  born, 
and  the  name  of  the  tribe  'Kehilan'  is  that  to  which 
she  belonged." 

She  wouldn't  have  found  it  easy  to  lose  herself, 
thus  adorned  with  her  family  history;  but  I  imagine 
few  foreign  eyes  have  ever  beheld  an  Arabian  of 
such  absolutely  pure  blood? 

"  Very  few  travelers  who  have  penetrated  into  the 
desert  for  the  purpose,  have  ever  been  rewarded  by 
the  sight  of  these,  as  they  are  hidden  away  from 
strangers;  and  other  breeds  of  shorter  pedigree,  and 
far  less  value,  are  brought  forward  to  show  their 
paces,  and  perchance  bring  an  incredible  price  to 
their  astute  owners!" 

Are  these  marks  not  very  hard  to  read? 

"  To  the  scholar  learned  in  cabalistic  lore  these 
hieroglyphics  are  easily  read,  for  beginning  with  the 


PEDIGREE    OF    ARABIAN    HORSES. 


47 


48  MY  horse;  my  love. 

father  and  mother  they  indicate  the  ancestors  for 
many  generations  back.  Should  any  one  buy  a 
horse  so  marked  in  America  or  elsewhere,  he  will 
behold  a  thoroughbred"  Arab,  but  without  these 
marks  he  is  not  one. " 

Why  are  they  marked  on  both  legs? 

"  The  signs  on  the  left  foreleg  indicate  the  femi- 
nine side  of  descent,  the  mother,  grandmother,  great- 
grandmother,  etc.  On  the  right,  the  masculine  side, 
the  father,  grandfather,  great-grandfather,  etc.  An 
Arab  regards  the  father  of  a  family  of  very  little 
account,  compared  to  the  mother,  whether  of  man 
or  horse." 

Is  not  that  contrary  to  most  precedent? 

"  As  a  plurality  of  wives  is  an  essential  element 
in  the  domestic  economy  of  the  Arab  tribes,  the 
question  of  a  man's  title  to  distinction,  and  indeed, 
almost  his  identity,  must  be  established  by  the  fact 
of  who  is  his  mother.  She  belongs  to  the  man  who 
has  bought  her  of  her  father,  as  do  his  other  wives; 
and  when  she  is  established  in  his  household,  he  sets 
his  eunuch  to  watch  her,  that  no  doubt  of  her  virtue 
may  distract  his  thoughts,  or  fill  his  mind  with  uneasy 
jealousies." 

Then  each  of  his  numerous  offspring  is  the  pro- 
verbial "wise  child"  in  his  day  and  generation? 

"  Most  emphatically  so,  but  to  offset  the  duties  of 
the  watchful  eunuch,  to  themother  and  wife  is  shown 
the  highest  respect.  A  man  or  child  may  not  sit 
in  the  presence  of  his  mother  without  her  gracious 
permission,  and  to  her  wisdom  and  judgment  all 
important    questions    are    submitted.     The    Arabs 


PEDIGREE    OF    ARABIAN    HORSES.  49 

hold  this  same  peculiar  tenet  with  regard  to  their 
horses.  Nothing  will  induce  them  to  part  with  a 
mare  of  any  rare  breed,  and  because  of  their  sex  they 
are  more  highly  esteemed  and  more  favored.  So  in 
speaking  of  a  man  or  stallion  the  question  is  always, 
not  who  is  his  father,  but  who  is  his  mother?" 

Have  the  horses  in  Russia  any  special  value  or 
characteristics? 

"  The  native  Turcoman  horses  are  closely  allied 
with  the  Arabian.  They  are  exceedingly  tough, 
wild,  and  difficult  to  tame  and  teach.  So  obstinate 
are  they  and  so  wicked  that  given  a  good  chance 
they  will  kill  their  rider  or  keeper,  and  failing  this, 
will  persistently  refuse  to  eat  and  thus  starve  to 
death,  rather  than  obey." 

Is  it  possible  to  break  them? 

"Ah,  yes!  Once  broken,  however,  no  breed  of 
horses  is  more  reliable  or  intelligent,  or  so  suscep- 
tible to  the  highest  training.  To  the  newly-enlisted 
soldier  is  given  the  well-trained  horse,  which  in 
time  trains  and  teaches  the  soldier,  answering  to  the 
word  of  command  in  the  drill,  and  going  through  its 
intricate  evolutions  with  automatic  precision,  without 
the  aid  of  spur,  whip,  or  even  bridle.  In  this  way 
the  new  soldier  is  taught." 

And  what  about  the  new  horses? 

"Ah,  madam,  it  is  another  matter  when  new 
horses  come  to  be  trained  in  military  tactics.  Then 
the  old  soldier's  experience  is  required,  and  it  is  to 
him  that  the  new  horse  is  given  to  be  broken  to 
martial  ways  and  sounds." 

When  do  ordinary  horses  reach  their  prime? 
4 


50  MY  horse;  my  love. 

"  Divide  a  man's  age  by  three  and  you  will  under- 
stand his  comparative  relation  to  the  horse,  in  point 
of  attainment. " 

Then  a  horse  comes  of  age,  so  to  speak,  when  he 
is  seven  years  old,  as  a  man  does  when  he  is 
•twenty-one? 

"  Certainly,  and  when  he  is  five  he  compares  to 
the  lad  of  fifteen,  having  had  such  judicious  training 
as  befits  his  youth.  When  he  is  three,  he  knows  as 
much  as  the  boy  of  nine,  and  only  so  much  should 
be  expected  of  him.  In  the  proud  owner's  haste 
to  show  off  and  develop  the  fine  points  of  his  young 
horse,  he  overlooks  the  fact  that  his  strength  is  being 
tried  too  early,  while  his  bones  are  yet  too  soft  for 
hard  work. " 

Should  not  young  horses  spend  the  first  two  or 
three  years  of  their  lives  in  the  open  field? 

"Any  other  idea  is  a  most  mistaken  one.  They 
should  live  in  the  open  air  until  their  dentition  is 
complete,  so  as  to  draw  from  the  nourishing  grass 
and  herbs  such  tonic  as  their  growing  systems 
need,  as  well  as  to  develop  the  full  and  natural 
play  of  their  limbs." 

Is  it  not  also  a  great  mistake  to  test  the  speed  of  a 
young  horse  too  soon? 

"  Because  a  young  horse  can  run  very  fast  for  a 
short  distance,  it  does  not  follow  he  must  be  imme- 
diately trained  to  run  long  distances  in  a  specified 
time,  without  suffering  from  it.  It  is  to  this  mistake 
that  so  many  fast  and  promising  horses  owe  their 
short  lives  or  crippled  condition." 

Therefore,   Count,    you    would  say  "  Make  haste 


PEDIGREE    OF    ARABIAN    HORSES.  5 1 

slowly"  should  be  the  motto  of  him  who  sees  a  rare 
promise  in  his  pretty,  playful,  and  petted  young  colt? 
"  Unless  he  wants  to  see  him  condemned  to  earn 
his  living  on  the  monotonous  track  of  the  street  car, 
or  pulling  about  timid  women  and  children  in  remote 
country  districts,  when  he  might  have  become  a 
famous  racer,  surrounded  by  admirers  and  enjoying 
every  care  and  attention  his  great  money  value  could 
demand." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

IT    IS    THE    BLOOD    THAT    TELLS. 

The  primacy  of  the  Arabian  horse  has  never  been 
doubted,  has  it,  Count,  even  by  the  most  sceptical? 

"  Their  origin  is  historical  from  the  time  of  Noah. 
Notwithstanding  all  the  difficulties  attending  their 
purchase  they  have  still  entered  Europe  and  other 
countries  as  war-trophies — in  a  very  few  instances  as 
gifts — and  again  many  have  been  stolen.  Few  have 
been  exchanged  for  money  or  merchandise,  but  all 
countries  need  the  infusion  of  their  blood  to  fortify 
and  strengthen  the  best  qualities." 

What  nations  have  been  specially  successful  in 
obtaining  them? 

"  The  national  horses  of  Austria,  Hungary,  France, 
and  Italy  owe  their  foundation  blood  to  the  Arab. 
The  famous  Russian  Orloffs  came  from  the  fiery 
desert.  To  go  far  back,  the  Roman  racers  at  Ebor 
were  Arabs.  The  only  horses  that  survived  the 
first  year  of  the  Crusades  were  Spanish  Barbs  brought 
by  Raymond  of  Toulouse  and  his  followers." 

What  is  a  Barb? 

"  The  Barb  is  an  Arab,  but  an  Arab  is  not  neces- 
sarily a  Barb.  In  the  early  creation  of  the  English 
thoroughbred  it  was  discovered  that  the  blood  of  the 
^Eastern  Horse '  produced  speed  with  endurance  as 

52 


IT    IS    THE    BLOOD    THAT    TELLS.  53 

well  as  beauty,  which  no  other  type  of  horse  had 
done.  These  so-called 'Eastern  horses  '  were  named 
from  the  countries  whence  they  came,  as  the 
Arab,  the  Barb,  the  Turk,  and  the  Spanish  jennet, 
but  all  were  included  under  the  head  of  'Eastern 
horses. '  " 

Of  course,  Count,  you  remember  the  legend,  that 
when  the  Saracens,  were  driven  out  of  Palestine  by 
the  Crusaders  they  crossed  into  the  Soudan.  Here 
they  met  the  bold,  brave,  ever-unconquered  tribes  of 
the  desert.  It  is  from  the  Saracens  that  the  sheiks, 
mounted  on  the  "  air-drinkers" — those  who  drink  the 
air  in  lieu  of  water — are  supposed  to  have  taken  by 
force  the  wonderful  armor,  made  of  finest  links  of 
steel,  in  which  they  subsequently  rode,  and  were  so 
invincible. 

"  I  have  not  forgotten  it.  But  it  was  also  during 
the  Crusades  that  Coeur  de  Lion  rode  an  Arab  of 
Cypriot  breed,  'a  magnificent  bay, '  taken  by  strata- 
gem from  the  stable  of  Isaac  the  Great,  Emperor  of 
Cyprus.  Edward  of  England  rode  an  Andalusian 
Barb,  'Gray  Lyard,'  which  carried  him  'ever  charg- 
ing forward,'  in  Palestine.  That  stalwart  warrior 
the  'Cid, '  owned  a  famous  stallion,  'Bavicca, '  also  an 
Andalusian  Barb,  and  rode,  besides,  a  noted  white 
Arab  presented  to  him  by  the  Sultan  of  Persia.  By 
weighing  the  armor  of  this  trio  of  warriors,  now  in 
the  Tower  of  London,  the  fact  is  proved  that  these 
small  Arabs  carried  4  cwt.  each." 

Yes,  "  it  is  the  blood  which  tells  when-  the  strain 
comes."  Only  lately  I  have  been  interested  in  read- 
ing that  when  Sir  Gerald  Graham  was  sent  at  the 


54  MY  horse;  my  love. 

head  of  six  thousand  men  to  chastise  Osman  Digma, 
the  Egyptian,  he  did  it  effectually,  but  it  was  the 
reckless  charges  of  the  Arabs,  horse  and  man,  which 
helped  to  win  the  day,  and  to  insure  Osman's  crush- 
ing defeat.  Then,  too.  General  Gordon,  so  greatly 
lamented,  showed  that  the  Egyptians  could  not  be 
made  to  face  the  Arabs ;  as  two  thousand  of  them, 
armed  with  Remingtons,  were  put  to  ignominious 
flight  by  only  sixty  fierce  horsemen  of  the  desert, 
mounted  on  the  famous  Nedj  racers,  "  swift  as  the 
wind  and  tireless  as  the  wolf. 

"  The  English  found  the  little  Arabs  most  useful 
in  Egypt,  too,  for  they  alone  could  stand  the  work 
and  the  long  marches  without  water,  and  with  scanty 
food,  and  carrying  immense  weights." 

It  is  in  such  emergencies  that  they  show  their 
perfection  of  physical  strength,  I  have  no  doubt. 
They  are  very  delightful  to  ride,  are  they  not? 

"Any  one  accustomed  to  riding  a  pure  bred 
Arabian  will  never  ride  any  other,  for  there  is  all 
the  difference  between  the  ordinary  English  hackney 
and  the  Arab,  that  there  is  betwen  a  cart  without 
springs  and  a  rocking-chair." 

Do  they  not  make  fine  hunters? 

"  In  hunting  they  surpass  every  other  breed ;  for 
they  go  well  to  hounds,  are  natural  jumpers,  bold 
fencers,  requiring  neither  whip  nor  spur.  Then 
they  have  good  tempers,  good  mouths,  easy  paces, 
are  fast  walkers,  trotters,  or  runners,  have  undoubted 
soundness  of  wind  and  limb,  and  can  travel  scores  of 
miles  without  fatigue. " 


CHAPTER    IX. 

TYPES    OF    ARABIAN    HORSES. 

The  type  of  Arabian  horses  is  very  marked,  is  it 
not,  Count? 

"  Ah,  madam,  so  pure  and  distinct  of  race  is  the 
Arab,  and  so  great  his  power  of  heredity,  that  how- 
ever radical  the  cross-cut,  the  mint  mark  of  the  desert 
still  remains.  For  instance,  one  proof  of  his  unsul- 
lied descent  for  centuries,  is  the  characteristic  spring 
of  the  tail  from  the  crupper,  and  his  proud  way  of 
carrying  it  as  he  moves  it  to  and  fro." 

Do  not  Arabs  increase  in  size  after  leaving  the 
desert? 

"  The  progen)^  of  Arabs  once  imported  for  breed- 
ing purposes  show  at  once  in  their  increased  size, 
without  any  sacrifice  of  power  and  just  symmetry, 
the  advantages  of  generous  living,  of  a  better  climate, 
of  petted  care,  and  of  a  wise  indulgence  in  training." 

How  many  generations  before  they  equal  our  horses 
in  size? 

"  In  the  course  of  three  generations  English  or 
American  bred  Arabs  will  not  lack  size.  While,  as 
I  have  said,  very  few  Arabs  of  the  bluest  blood  ever 
leave  Arabia;  yet  English  pounds,  and  even  the 
American  dollar,  backed  by  the  right  influence,  have 

55 


56  MY  horse;  my  love. 

proved  that  sometimes  gold  wins  despite  the  Sultan 
and  the  wily  horse-copers  of  the  desert." 

Because  of  their  scarcity  any  prejudice  against 
them  must  be  founded  on  ignorance? 

"Ah  yes,  ignorance  is  a  quality  which  'knows  it 
all,'  and  to  proclaim  that  they  have  deteriorated  is 
due  to  the  same  cause.  The  pedigree  which  boasts 
an  ancestry  of  great  deeds  and  lengthy  traditions,  is 
as  jealously  guarded  by  the  haughty  sheiks  now  as 
in  former  days." 

But  they  are  brought  out  once  in  awhile,  although 
the  vSultan,  considering  he  doesn't  own  any,  has  for- 
bidden the  export  of  the  "true  air-drinker?" 

"  It  has  been  always  as  much  the  result  of  good 
luck,  as  good  management  when  a  purchase  has  been 
negotiated.  In  the  times  of  Abd-el-Kadir  fine  stal- 
lions even  were  scarce  in  the  Sahara,  while  to  secure 
an  Arab  mare  was  to  employ  stratagem,  which 
would  be  considered  unworthy  in  any  other  trade 
than  horse-dealing. " 

But  aside  from  the  many  fine  points  you  have  men- 
tioned, why  are  they  so  coveted  and  valuable? 

"  Because  the  Arab  horse  is  the  primitive  blood 
cause,  and  has  successfully  withstood  the  tests  of 
in-breeding  for  many  centuries.  Experience  for 
many  decades  has  so  fully  justified  the  production  of 
the  Anglo-Arabian  thoroughbred,  that  to  reproduce 
it  new  blood  must  be  infused,  for  which  new  importa- 
tions of  the  Arab  are  necessary." 

Is  the  name  Anglo- Arab  arbitrary? 

"  The  English  discovered,  some  two  centuries  ago, 
that  with  their    native   horses,    together   with    the 


TYPES    OF    ARABIAN     HORSES.  57 

blood  of  the  'Eastern  horses,'  they  were  creating 
several  distinct  types.  Among  these  was  the  race- 
horse which  soon  became  the  favorite  type,  and 
received  the  most  attention.  In  due  time  this  crea- 
tion was  called  the  Anglo-Arab,  the  word  Arab 
indicating  the  blood-cause.  For  many  years  this 
Anglo-Arab  was  exported  to  the  Continent,  as  the 
English  thoroughbred,  for  to  England  was  due  this 
new  creation.  Count  Orloff  created  the  famous  Rus- 
sian national  horse  in  the  same  way,  by  using  Arab 
stallions  to  Anglo-Arab  and  Flemish  mares.  So 
France,  to  create  her  coach-horse,  uses  the  blood  of 
the  Arab  and  calls  it  the  ' Franco- Arab. '  " 

Is  not  the  modern  racer  considered  perfect  by 
most  breeders? 

'*  He  does  not  show  the  fine  points  and  attributes 
formerly  seen  in  horses  of  an  older  date  and  trans- 
mitted to  them  by  their  Arabian  ancestry.  The 
English  thoroughbred  has  failed  to  hand  down  to 
his  descendants  the  primal  characteristics  of  the 
pure  Arabian." 

Why  has  he  so  failed? 

"  Because  he  is  not  really  of  unadulterated  race. 
History  proves  that  the  race-horses  of  England  are 
neither  of  Arabian  blood  nor  yet  entirely  of  Eastern 
extraction,  and  cannot,  therefore,  be  entirely  thor- 
oughbred." 

Do  horses  inherit  particular  qualities? 

"Just  as  in  man.  Many  ahorse  proves  his  ancestry 
by  what  he  has  inherited.  In  studying  the  pedigrees 
of  modern  race-horses,  one  finds  that  each  individual 
inherits  the  flaws,  which  are  shown  to  have  existed 


58  MY  horse;  my  love. 

in  his  ancestor,  and  often,  alas,  a  multiplication  of 
them.  This  is  the  case  with  the  most  carefully 
bred.  What,  then,  can  be  said  of  those  of  much 
mixed  pedigrees,  where  strains  are  numerous  and 
derived  through  inferior  animals?  " 

And  do  imperfections  continue  to  descend? 

"  Inferior  horses  used  in  the  stud  most  certainly 
hand  down  the  stain  immediately  derived  from  their 
dam,  in  addition  to  former  ones.  In  these  later  days 
every  consideration  has  been  sacrificed  to  the  develop- 
ment of  speed  alone,  all  the  science  and  soimd  prin- 
ciples of  breeding  which  our  ancestors  established 
being  very  greatly  disregarded.  Since  the  days  of 
King  James  the  First  the  racer  has  been  the  product 
of  careful  selection  for  racing  purposes  only." 

Have  the  English  always  been  celebrated  for  their 
horses? 

"  It  was  immediately  after  the  introduction  of 
Eastern  blood,  not  before,  and  within  the  last  two 
hundred  years,  that  the  English  reputation  for  own- 
ing and  breeding  fine  horses  began,  and  it  was  not 
until  1808  that  the  first  volume  of  the  stud-book,  in 
which  every  thoroughbred  horse  was  registered,  was 
issued.  If  one  should  look  back  to  the  days  of  Queen 
Anne  and  trace  the  pedigrees  given  of  some  horses 
in  her  days,  it  will  be  seen  that  nothing  but  Eastern 
blood  can  be  found.  No  better  Arabians  have  ever 
appeared  in  England  than  the  black  and  bay  stallions 
presented  by  Imaun  Seyeed  of  Muscat  to  his  majesty, 
William  the  Fourth.  These  horses  came  from  the  pur- 
est strain  of  the  desert,  the  Nedj.  It  is,  however,  be 
lieved  they  were  never  used  as  sires  with  thorough- 


TYPES    OF    ARABIAN    HORSES.  59 

bred  mares,  or  even  with  an  Arabian  mare  sent 
with  them." 

What  a  royal  present!  But  was  not  this  neglected 
opportunity  much  to  be  deplored? 

"  It  was  a  national  mistake,  for  the  three  famous 
English  racers,  Herod,  Eclipse,  and  Matchem,  from 
whom  all  modern  horses  are  descended,  were  only 
half-bred;  got  by  half-bred  sires  from  half-bred 
dams,  which  proves  only  too  conclusively  that  the 
English  racer  is  not  the  'true  son  of  Arabia  Deserta. ' 
Subsequently  the  arrival  in  England  of  Betty  Leedes 
and  Darley  Arabian,  the  sire  and  dam  of  Flying 
Childers,  caused  such  a  furor^  that  the  nobility  and 
landed  gentry  vied  with  each  other  for  their  posses- 
sion, and  for  years  after  the  Yorkshire  horses  were 
invincible. " 


.  CHAPTER    X. 

ARABIAN    HORSES    IN    ENGLAND. 

Owing  to  the  great  difficulties  of  purchase  and  im- 
portation of  Arab  horses,  I  imagine  that  only  a  few 
breeders  can  afford  to  be  enthusiastic  on  the  sub- 
ject, even  in  England. 

"  In  England  the  P];ince,  or  rather  the  Princess,  of 
Wales  heads  the  list.  It  is  the  custom  of  the  Sultan 
of  Turkey  to  send  presents  of  so  called  Arab  horses, 
to  distinguished  crowned  heads  in  Europe.  A 
tremendous  sensation  was  caused  in  Turkey  and  the 
East  by  the  present  of  the  famous  stallion  Kouch  to 
the  Princess  of  Wales.  The  Pasha  who  was  sent 
over  in  charge  of  the  horse  said  on  his  arrival  in 
England  that  he  had  taken  many  beautiful  horses 
as  presents  to  various  crowned  heads,  but  one  of 
Kouch 's  breed,  never  before.  It  was  believed  the 
Sultan  would  as  soon  have  thought  of  parting  with 
his  sultanate  as  with  an  Arab  horse  of  this  breed, 
and  it  was  doubtful  if  he  could  ever  get  another  like 
him.  It  was  so  unusual  a  gift  that  it  was  confi- 
dently asserted  that  the  Sultan  would  never  again 
be  allowed  to  part  with  anything  so  rare  and  valu- 
able." 

Had  the  Sultan  any  special  reason  for  presenting 
Kouch  to  the  Princess? 

60 


ARABIAN    HORSES    IN    ENGLAND. 


6l 


"The  simple  reason  of  it  was  the  susceptibility 
of  the  Sultan  to  female  beauty.  He  was  so  captivated 
by  the  Princess  of  Wales,  when  in  England,  that 
on  hearing  of  her  great  passion  for  horses,  and  her 
great  ambition  to  possess  a  beautiful  Arab,  that  he  de- 
termined, on  his  return  to  Turkey,  to  send  her  the 
choicest  animal  in  his  stable.  Of  course  you  must 
understand   that  the  Sultan  had  no  opportunity  at 


THE  ARABIAN  MARE,  NAOMI. 


wm^.''.. 


home,  of  conversing  with  any  other  women  than 
those  of  his  own  harem.  And  so  it  was  that  Kouch, 
the  most  beautiful  horse  ever  seen  in  England,  the 
only  pure  'air-drinker'  in  the  Sultan's  stables,  for 
which  he  paid  ten  thousand  guineas,  entered 
England. " 

Is  he  still  living? 

"Alas,  no;  and  the  only  pure-bred  son  he  had, 
Gomussa — whose  dam  was  Naomi,  the  only  Arabian 


62  MY  horse;  my  love. 

mare  now  in  the  United  States — was  subsequently  ex- 
ported to  Chili.  Kouch  and  Kismet  were  admitted  by 
the  Cognoscenti,  to  be  the  horses  of  this  century,  and 
now  both  are  gone.  Kismet  died  two  hours  after  land- 
ing in  New  York,  having  been  eighteen  days  at  sea, 
and  dying,  no  doubt,  of  pericarditis." 

Yes,  I  heard  with  great  regret  of  his  death,  which 
was  a  severe  loss  to  two  continents.  His  owner,  the 
Rev.  F.  F.  Vidal,  of  Needham  Market,  Suffolk, 
England,  yielded  him  up  after  the  most  earnest  per- 
suasions, as  a  loan  to  the  Americo-Arab  Company  on 
Long  Island  for  two  years,  in  order  that  new  blood 
might  be  infused  into  the  coming  races  of  horses  in 
America.  Mr.  Vidal  himself  wrote  me  that  he  was 
actuated  by  a  hearty  sympathy,  in  the  efforts  of  Mr. 
Randolph  Huntington  and  his  company,  to  found  a 
family  of  Arab  horses;  and  that  Kismet  was  a  treas- 
ure of  such  inestimable  value  that  he  could  never 
forgive  himself  for  letting  him  go  to  his  death. 

**  Did  Kismet  leave  no  successors?" 

Mr.  Vidal  owns  a  very  handsome  pure-bred  son  of 
Kismet,  *Svho,"  he  writes,  "bids  fair  to  outrival  his 
father  in  beauty,  although  no  horse  can  ever  do  so 
in  other  qualities."  His  little  stud  of  Arabs  is  said 
to  be  the  best  in  England.? 

Who  are  the  other  owners  of  Arab  studs  in  England  ? 

"  The  Hon.  Miss  Etheldred  Dillon,  who  has  spent 
year  after  year  in  India,  Algiers,  Turkey,  and 
Egypt,  going  as  far  into  Arabia  as  she  dared,  to  secure 
the  precious  sons  of  the  desert  for  her  stud,  is  also 
an  enthusiast.  Although  approaching  three  score 
years,  she  is  still  a  devotee  of  the  saddle,  and  owns 


ARABIAN    HORSES    IN    ENGLAND.  63 

and  breeds  fine  Arabians.  Mr.  Wilfred  Blunt  and 
his  wife,  Lady  Anne,  granddaughter  of  Lord  Byron, 
make  up  the  trio  of  pioneers,  so  to  speak,  in  the  cause 
of  securing  Arabs  for  the  improvement  of  their  studs 
in  England.  Officers  of  the  army  who  have  had  the 
advantages  of  travel  and  service  in  Egypt,  India, 
and  the  Crimea,  and  always  bestrode  Arabs  there, 
have  brought  them  out  when  possible.  Among 
these  is  Captain  W.  C.  Kerr,  V.  C,  of  the  Royal 
Lancers,  to  whom  belongs  the  beautiful  Anglo- 
Arabian  Khaled.  Of  him  he  says,  *He  is  good 
enough  to  hold  his  own  against  all  comers  on  the 
flat,  or  between  the  flags,  to  carry  a  first  flight  four- 
teen stone  man  in  the  shires ;  would  mount  the  Prince 
of  Wales  to  perfection,  at  the  head  of  the  Tenth  or 
Lady  Clara  Vere-de-Vere  in  the  Row.'  He  owns 
also  'Speed  of  Thought, '  a  dark  rich  chestnut  without 
white  save  a  star.  Possessed  of  superlative  quality 
from  head  to  heel,  high-couraged,  full  of  what 
Americans  term  'vim,'  strong,  vigorous;  his  bold, 
free,  and  jaunty  walk  quite  up  to  five  miles  an  hour; 
he  is  ever  the  theme  of  general  admiration.  Across 
country  he  is  as  clever  as  a  cat,  will  face  anything, 
no  matter  how  big,  how  yawning,  and  on  parade 
bears  himself  bravely,  as  becomes  his  ancestry." 

And  do  these  believe  that  no  other  than  the  true 
Arabian  is  of  absolutely  pure  blood? 

"  This  intelligent  company  of  scientific  breeders  be- 
lieve, after  many  years  of  experience,  that  the  blood 
of  the  true  Arabiati  must  be  the  foundation  of  every- 
thing that  is  excellent  in  the  various  types  of  light 
horses  for  the  turf,  the  field,  war,  pleasure,  or  light 


64  MY    HORSE  ;    MY    LOVE. 

harness.  Also  that  each  type  must  have  recourse 
to  a  fresh  infusion  of  the  parent  blood,  or  it  will  de- 
teriorate. For  many  thousands  of  3^ears  we  know  cer- 
tainly, that  his  blood  has  been  maintained  unalloyed, 
although  among  a  very  small  section  of  the  numer- 
ous tribes  that  roam  the  desert.  The)^  prize  this 
blood  so  highly  that  they  will  never  cop  it  and  rarely 
part  with  it. " 


CHAPTER  XL 

ENGLISH    AND    RUSSIAN    HORSES. 

Aer  there  many  types  of  English  horses? 

"There  are  several  well-established  types,  most 
valuable  in  their  different  spheres  in  England.  The 
thoroughbred  ranks  first,  and  it  is  a  mistake  to  sup- 
pose he  is  good  for  no  other  purpose  than  racing,  but 
he  is  very  costly  as  an  all-round  horse  as  well  as  a 
racer." 

What  are  the  heavy-draught  horses? 

"First,  there  is  the  Suffolk  breed  of  sorrel  cart- 
horses. Second,  the  Lincolnshire  horse,  called  the 
Shire.  Third,  the  Clydesdale,  a  first  cousin  to  the 
French  Percheron.  Of  coach-horses  and  roadsters 
there  are,  first,  the  Cleveland  Bay,  and  second,  the 
Norfolk  Roadster.  Some  of  the  ponies  are  very 
distinctive." 

Is  not  the  Suffolk  cart-horse  very  popular? 

"  Ah,  yes,  and  he  owes  his  popularity  to  the  fact 
that  he  is  founded  on  Arab  blood.  He  is  the  grandest 
and  by  far  the  best  heavy-draught  horse  in  the  world. 
As  I  know  all  breeds  I  have  no  hesitation  in  plac- 
ing him  above  them  all.  His  gay  proud  carriage, 
indomitable  courage,  gentle  temper,  and  beautiful 
appearance  place  all  compeers  in  the  show-yard  at 
a  disadvantage.  And  I  must  be  honest  and  say 
5  65 


66 


MY  horse;  mv  love. 


ENGLISH    AND     RUSSIAN    HORSES.  67 

that  he  owes  all  these  good  qualities  to  the  large 
infusion  of  Arab  blood  he  possesses." 

This  matter  of  breeding  must  be  one  of  very  grave 
importance. 

"Ah,  madam,  those  who  proceed  on  ignorant  and 
unscientific  principles,  encourage  largely  the  breed- 
ing of  mongrels.  Many  are  so  prejudiced  and  carried 
away  by  the  fashion  of  the  day  that  they  cannot  see 
the  harm  they  are  doing,  and  they  will  not  be 
warned  in  time." 

Have  they  no  other  Arabs  in  Russia  than  the 
Orloffs? 

"  There  is  a  stud  in  Russia  where  the  Azeel  Arab 
has  been  bred  for  a  century.  It  began  with  the  purest 
blood  attainable — most  likely  stolen — and  the  system 
of  selection  has  always  been  carefully  carried  on. 
The  object  has  been  to  produce  such  a  race  of  su- 
perlative hunters  as  would  mount  the  owner  of  enor- 
mous estates  and  his  huntsmen,  fit  to  run  with  his 
noted  pack  of  wolf-hounds.  Captain  Kerr  writes 
interestingly  of  his  visit  to  Russia,  and  of  his  ex- 
perience with  these  Arab  hunters  and  the  hounds. 
He  says :  'These  hounds  hunt  by  scent  as  do  our  stag, 
fox -hounds,  and  harriers.  The  runs  are  often  fast 
and  always  long.  The  wolf  can  travel  both  fast  and 
far,  and  the  Duke  of  Beaufort  with  his  crack  pack 
could  make  little  of  the  gaunt  untiring  wolf  of 
Brittany.  Over  and  over  again  on  good,  sound, 
wet  ground  I  have  tried  to  spear  a  wolf,  but  on  even 
the  fastest  race-horse  I  could  never  get  within  strik- 
ing distance.  When  I  put  on  a  spurt  Mr.  Wolf 
would  just  lengthen  his  stride,  seemingly  without  an 


68  MY  horse;  my  love. 

effort,  and  keep  his  carcase  out  of  reach  of  my 
longest  arm.  Many  of  the  runs  when  the  scent  was 
good  would  mean  thirty  miles  and  more,  as  the  crow 
flies,  of  continuous  galloping.  This  was  followed 
by  a  long  weary  trudge  home,  and  it  was  only  these 
Russian  Arabs,  so  carefully  and  systematically 
trained,  that  could  overtake  the  wary,  cunning,  and 
tireless  wolf,  and  give  their  riders  the  chance  for  suc- 
cessful slaughter." 

They  appreciate  the  Arab  in  India  also,  I  have 
heard. 

"  In  Bombay  there  is  a  community  of  merchants 
called  'Battias, '  who  deal  mainly  in  shirtings.  They 
have  accumulated  much  wealth,  and  it  is  their 
particular  fad,  to  ride  to  and  from  their  offices  in 
buggies,  with  an  Arab  in  the  shafts.  These  light- 
handed  mild  Hindo(fs  are  skilful  drivers,  and  get 
far  more  trot  out  of  their  horses  than  do  the  Euro- 
peans. The  high  knee  action,  an  inheritance  from 
coarse  breeds^  is  conspicuously  absent  in  these  graceful 
Arabs,  and  a  good  many  of  them  pace." 

I  have  heard  it  said  that  "  A  Spanish  gypsy  girl,  a 
pure  Arabian,  and  a  game-cock  are  the  accepted 
embodiments  of  beauty,  symmetry,  and  graceful 
m.otion. " 

"  Yes,  that  is  an  old  saying.  The  pure-bred  Arab 
of  the  desert  is  trained  to  be  graceful.  His  rider 
needs  not  the  bridle  to  guide  him,  but  indicates  his 
wishes  by  the  pressure  of  his  knees  and  legs.  His 
head  is  not  jerked,  nor  his  mouth  torn,  by  cruel  bits, 
but  a  sign,  a  pressure,  a  whistle,  or  a  word,  is  only 
necessary  to  establish  a  perfect  understanding.     For 


ENGLISH    AND    RUSSIAN    HORSES.  69 

centuries  he  has  been  trained  and  broken  by  intelli- 
gent kindness,  which  his  intelligent  instinct  fully 
appreciates.  He  regards  man  in  the  light  of  an 
intimate  friend,  while  he  acknowledges  his  mastery 
and  obeys  him  lovingly.  Well  he  knows  him  by  the 
sound  of  his  voice,  the  smell  of  his  garments,  the 
sight  of  his  face.  In  all  are  they  in  sympathy  and 
accord,  and  so  nothing  stands  in  the  way  of  perfect 
temper  and  disposition,  which  the  Arab  horse  pos- 
sesses by  right  of  a  long  and  ancient  inheritance. 
His  thorough  docility  causes  him  to  be  easily  trained 
to  unaccustomed  work,  to  a  change  of  step,  to  har- 
ness rather  than  the  saddle,  and  to  pull  rather  than 
carry." 

You  have  never  explained  to  me  the  different  gaits 
of  a  horse. 

"  The  gallop  is  the  natural  gait  of  a  horse.  A 
pacer  goes  first  on  the  two  legs  on  one  side,  and  then 
the  two  legs  on  the  other.  This  makes  a  very  easy 
rocking  motion,  and  is  natural  to  many  horses,  being 
generally  inherited.  The  natural  gait  of  the  camel 
is  to  pace,  and  that  is  why  it  is  not  difificult  or  tire- 
some to  ride  on  an  animal  so  awkward  looking.  His 
speedy  trot  is  another  thing." 

What  is  the  simple  step  or  single  foot? 

"  It  is  one  foot  on  the  ground  and  three  up.  The 
quick  trot  is  the  same,  but  with  such  force  that  the 
body  is  propelled  forward  with  one  leg." 

Is  trotting  then  an  artificial  gait?' 

"Emphatically  so,  although  in  some  the  gait  is 
more  readily  acquired  than  in  others.  Horses  must 
always  be  broken  to  trot  steadily,  and  it  is  consid- 


70  MY  horse;  my  love. 

ered  the  most  desirable  step.  To  gallop  or  run  the 
horse  throws  his  forefeet  forward,  and  propels  him- 
self with  his  hind  feet.  This  is  his  natural  motion, 
and  so  it  is  why  a  horse  is  said  to  'break*  when  he 
relieves  himself  by  going  from  a  fast  trot  into  a 
gallop. " 


CHAPTER  XII. 

CRUELTY    OF    DOCKING. 

Will  you  tell  me,  Count,  if  there  be  any  conceiv- 
ably good  reason  for  "  docking"  a  horse,  except  as  it 
may  have  captivated  the  fancy  of  horse-owners,  who 
regard  "  style"  as  the  only  requisite  in  their  hand- 
some turnouts? 

"  There  is  but  one  excuse  for  the  cruel  custom, 
that  it  is  possible  to  imagine.  When  a  horse  is 
fretted  through  constant  jerking  and  pulling  on  the 
driving-reins,  he  may  have  acquired  the  habit  of 
seeking  for  them  with  his  tail.  Such  wonderful 
strength  has  he  in  that  member  that  by  holding  down 
close  what  so  torments  him,  his  mouth  for  the  time 
being  is  relieved." 

Then  inexperienced  drivers  who  tug  continually  at 
the  reins  and  saw  the  mouth  intolerably,  sometimes 
teach  their  horses  this  bad  habit? 

"  It  is  true.  Horses  are  very  cunning  in  their  modes 
of  personal  defense.  If  one  be  viciously  disposed,  it 
is  when  his  tail  has  secured  the  reins,  and  he  can 
forcibly  hold  them  down,  that  he  may  take  the  bit 
between  his  teeth  and  show  his  driver  as  little  mercy 
as  has  been  vouchsafed  himself." 

Ah,  yes,  then  he  can  run  away  or  kick  the  carriage 
71 


72  MY  horse;  my  love. 

to  pieces,  or  revenge  himself  as  he  pleases ;  but  is  it 
not  the  young  horse  who  is  docked  before  he  can 
learn  such  tricks? 

"A  colt  may  show,  possibly  by  inheritance,  the 
disposition  to  be  easily  fretted,  and  then  if  his  master 
approve  the  cruelty,  he  has  little  chance  of  escaping 
it ;  but  only  extreme  age  protects  a  horse  from  being 
docked  if  his  master  see  fit." 

Has  the  custom  been  always  fashionable,  or  is  it 
not  a  recent  fad? 

"  It  has  descended  to  us  as  a  relic  of  barbarism,  and 
belongs  to  an  era,  far  less  intelligent  and  christian- 
ized, than  the  present  century.  There  was  a  time 
when  the  scriptural  injunction  'If  an  eye  offend  thee 
pluck  it  out'  was  literally  followed;  and  when  an 
insult  was  offered  from  man  to  man,  it  was  met  by 
a  speedy  and  unerring  sword-thrust.  So  when  a 
driving  horse  showed  a  disposition  to  interfere  with 
the  reins  by  using  his  tail,  the  suggestion,  'Cut  it  off,  * 
seemed  the  easiest  and  quickest  way  out  of  the 
difficulty." 

Was  there  no  plea  for  mercy  for  the  noble  brute, 
who  instinctively  protected  his  suffering  mouth,  or 
no  hesitation  at  committing  so  wicked  an  outrage 
upon  him? 

"  None  whatever  in  those  days,  and  hardly  any  in 
this  enlightened  age,  as  a  drive  in  any  of  our  fash- 
ionable parks  will  prove.  There  you  will  see  that 
mutilation  takes  the  place  of  personal  beauty,  and 
docking  is,  forsooth,  called  'style.'  " 

But  tell  me.  Count,  of  what  particular  or  impor- 
tant use  is  the  horse's  tail? 


CRUELTY    OF    DOCKING.  73 

"  When  the  gad-fly  lights  and  stings,  or  the  pump- 
fly — so  called  because  its  sting  once  inserted,  it 
pumps  the  blood  and  poisons  it — or  when  any  insects 
persistently  irritate  the  sensitive  skin,  the  long  hairs 
of  the  tail  have  power  to  switch  them  off.  The  tail 
is  usually  long  enough,  to  reach  all  along  the  body 
up  to  the  neck.  About  the  fore-legs  the  horse  can 
reach  with  his  nose,  and  thus  defend  himself  in  those 
parts.  As  the  point  of  his  nose  is  his  touch-point  and 
the  sense  of  a  thing  is  conveyed  to  him  with  it,  just 
as  we  examine  an  object  with  our  fingers,  so  is  the 
tail  important  also,  as  a  part  of  his  sign-speech. " 

Please  explain  what  you  mean  by  his  sign- 
speech. 

"  Does  not  the  dog  wag  his  tail  to  give  expression 
to  his  delight?  and  does  he  not  hold  it  down  close 
between  his  legs,  to  show  his  humiliation  at  angry 
words  or  any  form  of  punishment?  By  the  same 
token,  does  the  horse  lift  his  tail  proudly  when  in 
motion,  and  wave  it  to  and  fro  like  an  ostrich  plume, 
when  he  is  happy  and  pleased.  One  of  the  surest 
signs  of  good-breeding  is  the  spring  of  the  tail  from 
the  crupper.  Then  it  can  give  also  a  direct  blow, 
blinding,  disconcerting,  paralyzing,  to  the  too  famil- 
iar, when  the  intelligent  beast  knows  he  need  not 
kick  in  self-defense." 

Live  and  learn!  I  had  never  thought  of  all  these 
accomplishments ! 

"  Then  when  the  head  hangs  wearily  down,  the 
tail  drops  also,  and  these  are  signs  of  great  fatigue 
after  hard  work,  or  a  long  day's  toilsome  journey. 
The  merciful  man  notes  all  these   familiar   signs, 


74  MY  horse;  my  love. 

and  gives  to  his  faithful  servant  the  rest  he 
needs." 

Is  the  operation  of  docking  a  very  severe  or  pain- 
ful one? 

"  To  explain  why  it  is  a  fearful  ordeal,  I  must  give 
you  a  short  lesson  as  to  the  anatomy  of  the  horse's 
tail.  First,  there  are  from  fifteen  to  seventeen  bones. 
There  are  two  pairs  of  tendons  to  lift  the  tail  up  and 
to  draw  it  down,  and  there  are  two  pairs  of  tendons  to 
turn  it  sideways  from  left  to  right,  and  from  right  to 
left.  There  are  strong  ligaments  joining  the  bones, 
and  arteries,  veins,  and  nerves  intertwined  through- 
out. Covering  all,  with  Nature's  perfect  finish,  is  the 
muscular  tissue  from  which  grow  the  long  heavy 
hairs.  Therefore,  to  cut  through  the  quivering  flesh, 
the  bones  and  tendons  and  ligaments,  to  sever  the 
great  arteries  and  the  smaller  veins,  and  to  expose 
the  shrinking  nerves,  is  not  only  to  produce  exquisite 
agony  to  the  terrified  helpless  being,  but  the  opera- 
tion being  of  so  dangerous  a  nature,  must  necessarily 
be  prolonged  beyond  bearing." 

Are  the  nerves  of  a  horse  very  sensitive? 

"  That  no  animal,  not  even  man,  has  such  an  ex- 
cessive development  of  nerves  as  the  horse,  has  been 
proved  over  and  over  again  by  post-mortem  exami- 
nations, betraying  the  closeness  with  which  they  are 
interlaced.  With  this  exceedingly  fine  nervous  con- 
stitution, are  given  the  patience  and  pluck,  to  endure 
longer,  more  severe  pain  than  any  other  animal 
living.  In  comparison  to  his  size  he  possesses  also 
a  very  small  stomach,  and  the  power  to  endure 
longer  and  more  tedious  work." 


CRUELTY    OF    DOCKING.  75 

Then  to  ''ride  a  willing  horse  to  death"  is  no 
unmeaning  adage? 

"  It  takes  its  source  from  the  fact  of  the  heavy  bur- 
dens put  upon  the  patient  animal  from  time  imme- 
morial, to  satisfy  his  exacting  and  capricious  master, 
Man." 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

OPERATION    OF    DOCKING. 

Have  you  ever  seen  the  operation  of  docking  per- 
formed, Count? 

"  Only  once,  and  then  I  was  called  in  as  surgeon 
to  save  the  life  of  the  suffering  victim." 

Will  it  be  too  harrowing  to  hear  how  it  was  done? 

"  The  horse  was  tied  by  the  neck  to  a  ring  in  the 
wall,  as  he  stood  in  his  stall,  with  a  switch  screwed 
as  tight  as  possible  on  the  end  of  his  nose.  Tliis 
was  in  order  to  hold  his  head  very  high  and  make 
him  powerless.  Two  men  held  him  against  the 
wall,  another  cut  with  a  pair  of  scissors  the  hair 
where  the  tail  was  to  be  severed,  while  a  fourth 
attended  to  the  roasting  iron  in  a  small  furnace." 

Did  not  the  poor  dumb  creature  know  something 
dreadful  was  about  to  happen? 

"  Ah,  if  you  could  have  seen  him  tremble  with 
apprehensive  fear!  When  all  was  ready,  there  was 
a  sudden  click  of  the  large  shears,  the  tail  lay  on  the 
ground,  and  the  blood  spurted  from  the  various  veins, 
striking  the  wall  several  feet  distant.  Then  the 
saucer-shaped  iron,  heated  to  a  white  heat,  was  fitted, 
over  the  bleeding  wound,  and  held  there  until  it  was 
sufficiently  roasted. " 

76 


OPERATION    OF    DOCKING.  77 

And  did  the  poor  horse  bear  this  cruelty  pa- 
tiently? 

''  He  endured  it  bravely  until  the  hot  iron  was 
applied,  and  then  the  dreadful  heart-searching  scream 
he  gave,  I  shall  never  forget  to  my  dying  day — and  I 
never  saw  him  afterward  without  a  choking  sensa- 
tion of  tears  in  the  remembrance." 

Do  horses  always  survive  this  cruel  operation? 

"  By  no  means.  Many  die  of  lock-jaw,  in  torture 
so  prolonged  (in  the  hope  that  since  they  have  money 
value  they  may  recover)  that  both  owners  and  opera- 
tors are  in  dread  lest  the  public  may  learn  of  the 
tortured  animal's  sufferings.  The  'Society  for  the 
Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Animals'  has  aided  the  en- 
actment of  the  strictest  of  laws  against  docking  and 
any  man  permitting  or  performing  the  operation  is 
liable  to  imprisonment  and  a  heavy  fine." 

It  cannot  be  painful  to  bang  the  tail,  -and  is  infin- 
itely prettier,  is  it  not? 

"  Most  decidedly.  A  woman  does  not  suffer  when 
the  ends  of  her  long  hair  are  trimmed,  and  a  banged 
tail  is  effective,  giving  the  idea  of  neat  grooming. 
Then  the  hairs  can  be  cut  quite  short,  as  the  stump 
of  the  tail  is  never  longer  than  fifteen  to  sixteen 
inches,  and  seldom  more  than  twelve.  No  idea  of 
mutilation  is  suggested  by  banging." 

I  have  seen  horses  whose  tails  seem  to  have  no 
natural  spring. 

"Yes,  but  they  are  presumably  of  coarse  breeds. 
It  is  a  natural  defect  which  can  be  remedied,  by  cut- 
ting slightly  the  tendons  or  ligaments  which  hold  it 
down,  even  as  you  would  cut  a  child's  tongue  who  is 


78  MY  horse;  my  love. 

'tongue-tied.'  Then  the  tail  must  be  artificially 
propped  and  the  wound  will  heal  quickly." 

There  is  no  danger  in  this,  I  suppose? 

"  Yes,  even  this  slight  operation  is  dangerous  to 
the  horse,  and  he  suffers  much  pain. " 

Do  you  consider  the  mane  also  so  important? 

"  The  mane  and  forelock  should  always  be  culti- 
vated, for  they  are  a  very  great  protection  against 
sunstroke.  To  cut  off  the  mane  is  therefore  to 
uncover  a  sensitive  part  of  the  neck  and  head,  to  an- 
nihilate a  beauty,  and  to  defeat  Nature's  meaning 
in  her  wise  bestowal  of  what  she  deems  a  necessity, 
or  she  would  not  have  given  it.  What  would  you 
think  of  a  little  colt  coming  into  the  world  with  an 
ass's  mane  and  a  docked  tail?  Would  you  admire 
it?" 

Well,  it  might  bring  its  owner  an  income  as  one 
of  Nature's  freaks,  like  the  double-headed  calf  or  the 
four-legged  chicken,  if  exhibited  in  a  menagerie. 
But  I  doubt  if  a  horse,  artificially  deprived,  would  be 
seen  in  company  with  one  ready  made,  so  to  speak, 
born  with  a  banged  mane  and  docked  tail. 

"Of  course,  madam,  you  know  that  all  accounts  of 
the  prehistoric  horse,  which  was  little  larger  than  a 
sheep,  prove  his  tail  to  have  been  prehensile.  To 
him  it  was  as  much  of  an  absolute  necessity  as  it  is  to 
the  monkey  to-day.  He  finds  it  indispensable  as  a 
hand  in  climbing  from  bough  to  bough,  in  swinging 
forward  to  catch  the  swaying  limb  of  a  tree,  and  in 
all  his  nimble  movements  a  wonderful  means  of 
defense,  progression,  or  escape. " 

And  you  consider  the  tail  of  our  modern  horse  as 


OPERATION    OF    DOCKING.  79 

essential  to  his  comfort,  well-being,  and  personal 
beauty,  although  no  longer  prehensile,  as  was  that  of 
his  prehistoric  ancestor? 

"  Undoubtedly,  notwithstanding  the  efforts  of  a 
silly  fashion  to  prove  the  contrary.  It  is  certainly 
past  finding  out  how  any  lover  of  the  symmetrical 
can  be  approvingly  silent,  when  he  witnesses  a  pro- 
cession of  thoroughbreds,  shorn  of  this  most  neces- 
sary of  Nature's  equipments,  but  otherwise  glorious 
to  behold!  In  the  horse.  Nature  revels  in  Hogarth's 
line  of  beauty.  Starting  at  his  ears  she  brings  her 
curve  about  his  neck,  gently  undulating  it  at  his 
shoulder  and  along  his  back,  and  gracefully  bending 
it  about  his  haunches,  so  to  describe  a  profile,  of 
which  a  swaying  tail  is  an  artistic  necessity." 

I  agree  with  you,  for  whoever  saw  a  picture  by 
Schreyer  or  Fromentin,  or  De  la  Roche,  or  Rosa  Bon- 
heur,  wherein  these  distinguished  artists,  who  have 
studied  and  know  the  beauties  of  the  animal,  would 
consent  to  depict  him  after  the  performance  of  this 
brutal  operation !  I  am  sure  the  question  of  prefer- 
ence can  never  be  given  to  the  ridiculous  bob-tails, 
who  lift  the  abbreviated  remnant  of  their  hind-quar- 
ters like  a  pompon,  absurdly  suggestive  of  a  certain 
fashion  in  bonnets,  or  hold  it  down  closel}^  as  if 
ashamed  of  it;  but  to  those  who  still  possess  what 
Nature  so  emphatically  designed  and  intended  they 
sliould  have. 

"Ah,  but  it  is  the  moneyed  classes  who  give  the 
cue  to  the  horse-using  world,  and  who  find  it  easier 
to  copy  an  inhuman  abuse,  than  to  enlighten  fashion- 
able Goths." 


8o  MY  horse;  my  love. 

I  have  heard  and  read  of  many  horse  lovers  in 
this  country  v^ho  refuse  to  buy  or  own  animals  so 
shorn. 

"  Yes,  there  are  breeders  and  buyers  here  who 
will  not  have  a  horse  that  is  docked,  and  through 
their  efforts  the  long-tailed  saddle-horse  is  steadily 
becoming  more  fashionable,  European  governments 
will  not  buy  one  that  has  been  docked  for  cavalry 
purposes.  It  is  also  well  known  that  officers  are  not 
allowed  to  ride  them,  even  if  they  be  private  prop- 
erty, when  on  military  parade." 

That  is  surely  a  step  in  the  right  direction  and 
ought  to  be  encouraging  to  the  Anglo-maniacs  to 
abolish  the  abuse  also  in  this  country.  Let  us  hope 
that  Dame  Fashion  will  interfere  and  set  her  arbi- 
trary seal  of  disapproval,  on  this  cruel  and  ugly  cus- 
tom of  equine  mayhem ! 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

THE    MEXICAN    BIT    AND    CURB. 

What  do  you  think  of  the  Mexican  bit,  Count? 

"Ah,  madam,  it  is  a  fearful  piece  of  machinery. 
Just  as  the  custom  of  docking  descends  to  us  from 
barbarous  times,  so  is  the  Mexican  bit  a  remnant  of 
the  Spanish  Inquisition.  It  cuts  without  mercy  or 
relief,  every  part  of  the  animal's  jaws.  To  place 
it  in  any  horse's  mouth,  whether  tender  or  hard,  and 
then  to  pull  against  it  with  the  reins,  is  to  produce 
a  torture  rivalling  the  thumb-screw  or  the  rack. 
While  these  may  not  kill  or  break  any  bones,  as  we 
alb  know,  they  have  too  often  made  many  a  sufferer 
forswear  his  religion,  or  swear  to  secrets  he  never 
heard  of." 

Is  this  bit  frequently  used? 

"  Not  nearly  so  much  now  as  formerly.  Possibly 
among  the  ranchers  in  the  far  West,  or  among  the 
Mexicans,  whose  ponies  are  hard  to  break,  and 
whose  hearts  are  quite  indifferent  to  any  cruelties 
inflicted  on  animals." 

Have  you  any  knowledge  or  experience  of  these 
bits  personally? 

"  Some  years  ago  I  knew  a  man  in  Philadelphia, 
from  whose  livery-stable  I  occasionally  hired  horses. 
One  day  I  missed  from  his  stall  a  beautiful  young 
6  8i 


82  '         MY  horse;  my  love. 

stallion  of  Arab  descent,  who  always  whinnied  at 
my  step,  expecting  his  frequent  caress.  The  man, 
with  a  sad  shake  of  his  head,  told  me  the  result  of 
having  hired  him  out  to  two  young  men  who  were 
very  ambitious  to  drive  him.  He  warned  them 
that  the  horse  was  not  thoroughly  broken.  'In  what 
way?'  said  they.  'Well,  you  see,  he  is  very  good 
under  the  saddle,  but  objects  strongly  to  being 
hitched,  and  it  isn't  everybody  who  can  manage 
him. ' 

"  '  Let  us  have  him,  and  we  will  break  him  to  har- 
ness for  you. ' 

"'AH  right,'  said  the  proprietor,  'he  has  cost  me 
a  pretty  penny  kicking  things  to  pieces,  but  if  you've 
a  mind  to  try  him  don't  forget  I  warned  you. ' 

"'Well,  we'll  take  him  and  tame  him,  too,  but 
first  I'll  go  for  my  Mexican  bit.' 

"  Returning  shortly,  he  placed  the  bit  in  the  young 
horse's  mouth,  and  the  horse  was  finally  hitched  to 
the  buggy.  As  he  was  led  out  of  the  stable  he  pranced 
proudly  and  playfully,  lifting  his  feet  daintily,  and 
glancing  from  side  to  side,  already  uneasy  at  what 
seemed  ever  approaching  his  hind  legs.  A  tug  at  the 
bit  warned  him  to  go  quietly,  and  he  proceeded,  still 
uneasy  and  half-scared,  until  the  smooth  country  road 
was  reached." 

Then  did  he  run  away? 

"  No,  but  he  protested  with  his  hind  legs,  for  he 
had  felt  the  insulting  whip,  and  his  mouth !  The 
cruel  two-edged  sword  was  doing  its  work,  cutting 
into  his  palate,  his  gums,  his  tongue.  In  vain  he 
tried  to  run  awa}^  from  the  agony  of  it,  but  the  bit 


THE    MEXICAN    BIT    AND    CURB.  83 

held  him!  He  could  not  shake  it  off  or  ease  his 
aching  mouth.  The  blood  flowed  down  in  streams, 
until  his  breast  and  fore-legs  were  red  and  dripping. 
Maddened  with  pain  and  fright  he  went  at  a  furious 
pace  for  an  hour  or  so,  returning  at  last  to  his  stable. " 

And  had  the  bit  cured  him  of  his  youthful  spirit? 

"Alas,  yes!  He  was  not  only  completely  con- 
quered and  subdued,  but  his  jaw  was  rendered  help- 
less, and  his  tongue  so  cruelly  cut  that  he  could 
never  carry  a  bit  again.  From  that  time  on  his 
spirit  was  broken,  and  he  was  unfit  either  to  ride  or 
drive.     So  much  for  the  Mexican  bit!" 

And  what  became  of  the  poor  fellow? 

''  His  owner  could  make  no  protest  against  the 
cruelty,  and  had  just  sold  him  to  a  breeder,  who, 
knowing  the  immense  value  of  his  blood  and  ances- 
try, could  make  him  useful  in  the  stud." 

There  can  be  no  such  objection  to  the  curb  bit? 

"  No,  the  curb  bit  is,  on  the  contrary,  not  only 
useful,  but  essential.  It  is  a  far  more  merciful 
means  of  reminding  a  wilful  horse,  that  he  is  not  to 
have  his  own  way  entirely.  It  does  not  cut  and 
cause  the  mouth  to  bleed. " 

How  does  it  act? 

"It  creates  an  ache  in  the  jaw,  which  few  horses 
enjoy,  and  which  in  most  cases  effectually  controls, 
while  it  does  not  injure  them.  The  curb  is  most 
important  in  riding,  especially  with  fiery  young 
steeds,  when  mounted  by  daring  women.  As  a  gen- 
eral thing,  women  have  a  light  touch  on  the  reins; 
and  one  properly  taught,  soon  learns  when  it  is  neces- 
sary to  use  the  curb,  and  how  much  of  it  her  horse 


84  MY  horse;  my  love. 

can  bear.  With  some  horses  it  is  dangerous  even 
to  let  go  the  curb,  while  with  others  the  snaffle  or 
guiding-rein  only  is  necessary." 

Horses  are  very  differently  broken,  are  they  not? 

"While  some  have  hard  mouths,  which  means  a 
greater  strength  of  resistance  in  the  jaw  and  a  defiant 
way  of  showing  it,  others  are  so  tender  that  it  seems 
cruel  to  use  the  curb.  Force  and  will  in  the  rider 
are  not  to  be  always  foremost  in  guiding;  but  a 
coaxing  word  often  makes  a  good  understanding,  and 
the  horse  is  most  sensitive  to  kindness.  His  ears 
are  quick  to  catch  a  caressing  sound.  Few  are  really 
vicious  by  inclination,  and  it  must  be  some  remem- 
brance of  a  cruelty  during  their  early  training  which 
makes  them  so." 

But  horses  are  widely  different  in  disposition,  are 
they  not? 

"  They  are  the  same  as  in  man.  Did  you  not  read 
lately  of  a  horse  trampling  not  only  his  master,  but 
his  master's  little  son  to  death?" 

You  refer  to  the  stableman  in  New  York  who  had 
owned  and  fed  the  horse  for  four  years? 

"  It  is  the  same.  That  horse  must  have  been  a 
Percheron,  for  they  are  singularly  revengeful  and 
never  forget  an  injury." 

But  what  could  the  man  have  done,  to  provoke 
the  horse  to  commit  such  a  horrible  deed? 

"  Some  men  are  naturally  overbearing,  and  take  no 
trouble  to  win  the  affection  and  good-will  of  the 
animals  under  their  charge.  This  man  may  have  pun- 
ished the  horse  unjustly,  or  have  teased  him  or  neg- 
lected to  feed  him,  or  have  done  many  other  things 


THE    MEXICAN    BIT    AND    CURB.  85 

which  were  offenses  from  the  horse's  standpoint. 
The  Percheron  is  slow  and  sullen  and  never  for- 
gives nor  forgets." 

Are  they  not  especially  valuable  as  draught- 
horses? 

"  Immensely  so.  They  are  never  speedy,  but  have 
enormous  strength  and  endurance,  being  founded  on 
Arab  blood,  and  can  pull  for  so  many  hours  a  day, 
and  so  many  miles  an  hour,  tremendous  weights,  and 
show  no  fatigue.  The  express  companies  own  a 
large  number  of  Percherons  for  which  they  pay  the 
stated  sum  of  $333.33  apiece,  or  $1,000  for  three." 

Did  you  ever  see  a  horse  injured  by  thrusting  a 
cold  metal  bit  in  his  mouth? 

"  That  is  of  too  frequent  occurrence  for  me  not  to 
have  seen  it,  and  far  oftener  than  I  like  to  think  of." 

One  cold  frosty  morning  I  heard  one  boy  say  to 
another,  "  I  dare  you  to  put  your  tongue  on  this  iron 
lamp-post."  In  a  twinkling  the  boy  did  it,  and  the 
skin  of  his  tongue  was*  left  on  the  frozen  iron.  I 
was  indignant  at  such  an  outrage,  but  had  no  time 
to  interfere.  Would  a  cold  bit  have  a  similar  ef- 
fect? 

"  Certainly,  madam.  The  horse's  tongue  is  equally 
sensitive,  and  a  frozen  bit,  whether  of  steel  or  iron, 
has  done  infinite  mischief  to  the  poor  animal,  which 
could  never  be  accounted  for.  Many  a  run-away 
can  be  traced  to  this  unthinking  carelessness  or 
ignorance. " 

It  should  not  be  difficult  to  remedy. 

"  A  cold  bit  can  be  quickly  warmed  by  thrusting 


86 


MY  horse;  my  love. 


THE    MEXICAN    BIT    AND    CURB.  87 

it  between  the  arm  and  body  for  a  few  moments,  or 
rubbing  it  between  the  hands,  or  on  something 
woollen.  But  to  avoid  the  trouble  permanently, 
through  ignorant  grooms,  the  bit  in  winter  should 
be  covered  with  leather  or  rubber  to  prevent  such 
prolonged  and  intolerable  suffering." 

The  tongue  so  injured  must  take  a  long  time  to 
heal? 

**  It  is  as  severe  and  painful  as  a  bad  burn,  and  no 
horse  should  take  the  bit  after  such  a  misfortune, 
until  entirely  recovered." 


CHAPTER    XV. 


THE    BEARING-REIN. 


We  have  never  heard  your  sentiments  about  the 
bearing  or  check-rein,  Count,  but  from  my  own 
knowledge  and  limited  observation  I  am  almost  sure 
you  do  not  approve  of  it. 

"  No,  madam,  I  cannot  approve  of  anything,  which 
makes  of  a  knowing  horse  simply  an  automaton,  and 
deprives  him  of  the  chance  to  exercise  his  natural 
intelligence.  The  bearing-rein  is  a  near  relation 
to  the  Mexican  bit,  although  its  invention  may  have 
been  conceived  in  a  spirit  somewhat  less  cruel." 

Should  it  ever  be  used? 

"  It  may  sometimes  be  used,  but  sparingly,  on  a 
very  unruly  young  horse  and  before  he  is  entirely 
broken." 

But  does  it  not  prevent  any  natural  play  of  the 
head? 

"  That  seems  to  be  the  object  of  it,  as  it  holds  the 
head  as  if  in  a  vise;  but  without  it  a  colt,  if  so 
minded,  can  put  his  head  down  between  his  fore-legs, 
and  thus  gain  such  a  purchase  on  his  hind  ones,  as 
will  enable  him  to  do  any  amount  of  mischief. " 

I  have  wondered  how  a  horse  can  propel  himself  at 
all,  with  the  check-rein  holding  him  in  so  unnatural 

88 


THE    BEARING-REIN.  89 

an  attitude,  and  appearing  to  clog  any  free  or  easy 
motion. 

"Ah,  yes,  it  is  as  effectual  in  i"s  way  as  is  the 
handcuff  on  the  hands  of  a  prisoner.  A  man  cannot 
run  far  with  his  hands  tied  together,  the  connection 
between  his  arms  and  legs  being  such  that  they 
unconsciously  assist  each  other,  and  to  tie  the  hands 
is  to  prevent  any  rapid  progression." 

Then  what  is  the  check -rein  good  for? 

"It  is  supposed  to  produce  'style'  in  a  driving 
horse.  That  is,  his  head  is  held  up  at  an  angle  to 
his  body,  at  once  unnatural  and  painful,  and  is  kept 
in  a  position,  that  every  one  must  acknowledge,  is 
stiff,  artificial,  and  ungraceful." 

Does  it  not  defeat  easy  locomotion? 

"  Undoubtedly,  producing  excessive  fatigue,  pain, 
and  long-suffering,  through  the  severe  strain  put 
upon  all  the  muscles  of  the  body." 

The  constant  use  of  it  must  then  be  an  unmixed 
evil? 

"  It  is  so,  emphatically.  A  horse  driven  daily 
with  a  check-rein,  will  in  time  have  the  tendons  of 
his  tongue  paralyzed.  The  steady  pull,  so  fixed  and 
constant,  strains  the  muscles  of  the  head  and  neck, 
and  becomes  unbearable  in  its  cruel  pressure  against 
the  corners  of  the  mouth." 

Do  they  not  get  callous? 

"  No,  unfortunately;  the  effect  is  to  wear  away  the 
corners,  little  by  little,  until  a  hole  is  formed  on 
each  side  of  the  mouth  from  which  the  tongue  pro- 
trudes. I  have  seen  horses'  mouths  so  worn  away  at 
the  corners  by  the  constant  use  of  the  bearing-rein, 


90  MY    HORSE;    MY    LOVE. 

that  there  was  literally  no  room  left  in  the  mouth 
for  the  tongue  to  lie,  so  naturally  it  would  hang  out, 
first  on  one  side  and  then  on  the  other.  The  horse 
would  prefer  to  keep  his  tongue  in  his  mouth,  but 
the  tendons  being  paralyzed  and  helpless,  the  poor 
creature  has  no  volition  in  the  matter." 

This  detracts  considerably  from  a  horse's  value, 
does  it  not? 

"  It  cannot  fail  to  reduce  his  value  greatly,  a  hang- 
ing tongue  being  always  so  unsightly.  Imagine  a 
horse  held  thus  firmly  by  the  check-rein;  his  head 
high  in  air,  his  nose  poking  forward,  his  eyes  covered 
with  blinders!  He  must  go  on,  although  he  cannot 
see  where  he  is  placing  his  feet.  He  lifts  them 
high,  trying  to  feel  his  way  carefully;  he  can  only 
turn  his  head  when  he  turns  his  body,  in  obedience 
to  a  pull  on  the  rein,  while  all  the  bones  and  mus- 
cles in  his  strong  frame  ache.  Still,  on  he  goes, 
prancing  or  plodding,  for  there  is  a  cracking  whip 
behind  him !  He  is  amiable.  He  wants  to  do  what 
is  required  of  him,  and  it  is  from  this  disposition 
that  his  encouragement  to  mend  his  pace  or  mind  his 
ways  must  come — surely  not  from  the  stupid  clogs 
that  check  and  make  unnatural  his  gait  and  thereby 
defeat  their  own  intention!' 

Under  the  guidance  of  the  check-rein  the  horse 
must  then  go  automatically? 

"  Certainly,  for  nothing  is  left  to  his  intelligence, 
and  he  has  no  more  volition  than  a  machine.  If 
regarded  as  such,  then  is  the  machinist  a  bungler 
in  his  trade;  but  it  must  be  very  hard  for  the  in- 
telligent horse  to  understand  why  his  friendly  ser- 


THE    BEARING-REIN.  9I 

vices  to  man  are  rewarded  only  by  pain  and  misap- 
prehension." 

As  one  of  the  most  sensitive  and  delicate  of 
animals,  he  is  too  often  the  victim  of  the  ignorant 
and  indifferent,  in  their  love  of  display,  and  to 
accentuate  their  wealth  and  fashion,  I  imagine. 

"  It  is  true,  but  those  who  know  how  to  care  for 
horses  with  sympathy,  and  an  understanding  of  their 
needs  and  merits,  cannot  look  with  pleasure  on  their 
distress.  Or,  when  robbed  of  their  beroming  equip- 
ments of  mane  and  tail,  they  are  held  back  to  prance 
against  the  check-rein,  while  being  urged  on  by  the 
smarting,  irritating  lash,  all  their  natural  aptitudes 
held  in  abeyance,  in  order  that  they  may  thus  give  a 
'stylish'  effect  on  parade." 

I  fancy  there  must  be  very  few  who  have  not  a 
keen  appreciation  of  their  courage  and  loyalty;  their 
beauty  and  sagacity;  their  endurance  and  power; 
their  affection  and  forbearance;  and  above  all,  their 
self-restraint  under  provocation. 

"  It  may  be  so,  but  it  is  to  wealth  and  fashion  that 
we  look,  to  promote  the  development  of  these  noble 
animals,  and  to  prevent  their  being  tortured  and 
harassed  by  inhuman  and  ignorant  abuses.  '* 


CHAPTER   XVI. 


BALKING. 


There  miSt  be  some  good  reason,  Count,  why 
many  horses,  excellent  in  every  other  respect,  are  so 
given  to  balking. 

"Ah,  madam,  a  balking  horse  is  a  difficult  subject 
to  deal  with,  for  he  represents  the  obstinacy  of 
ignorance." 

In  what  way? 

"  I  have  found  that  in  almost  all  cases  the  habit 
comes  from  not  seeing  an  object  perfectly — as  in 
man,  the  horse  often  inherits  or  is  born  with  imper- 
fect sight.  Very  many  are  near-sighted,  others  are 
far-sighted,  and  those  with  normal  sight  are  really 
the  exception." 

Is  this  simple  fact  usually  known  by  horse- 
owners? 

"  If  known,  much  less  attention  is  paid  to  it  than 
should  be.  The  sight  of  each  horse  should  be  tested, 
especially  when  they  shy,  swerve,  scare  easily,  balk, 
or  appear  in  any  way,  from  no  definable  cause, 
unruly.  A  horse  which  shies  at  everything  along 
the  road  will  almost  invariably  be  found  to  have 
short  sight." 

But  wha;t  will  help  this  defect? 
92 


BALKING.  93 

"  It  would  seem  a  very  odd  proceeding,  I  suppose, 
to  suggest  eye-glasses  as  a  remedy.  Many  horses, 
especially  speedy  hunters,  would  find  such  artificial 
assistance  invaluable.  So  many  are  unfit  for  even 
ordinary  work  on  this  account,  that  only  a  visit  to  the 
optician  could  prove  their  one  defect;  and  establish 
the  fact,  that  but  for  it,  their  value  need  be  no  less 
than  that  of  their  more  fortunate  companions  with 
normal  sight." 

I  have  read  lately  that  the  oculists  have  made 
great  strides  in  curing  defects  of  vision  in  man,  with- 
out the  use  of  glasses.  Even  eyes  which  have  been 
dimmed  from  birth  by  malformation  have  had  the 
power  to  see  well,  without  glasses,  restored  by  the 
best  specialists.  Many  examples  were  given  as 
evidence  that  errors  of  refraction  were  daily  cured 
by  treatment,  glasses  being  dispensed  with.  Dr.  W. 
H.  Bates,  of  New  York  City,  concludes  an  excellent 
article  in  the  New  York  Medical  Journal^  after  record- 
ing many  cases  cured  of  near-sightedness,  supposed 
to  be  irremediable,  in  these  words:  "The  vision,  in 
many  cases  of  myopia,  can  be  improved  very  much 
by  treatment  without  glasses,  and  frequently  this 
improvement  is  so  marked  as  to  render  glasses 
unnecessary."  Could  this  same  treatment  be  made 
successful  in  horses? 

"  Certainly,  diseases  in  man  and  horse  are  very 
similar,  but  such  treatment  of  the  eyes  would  be 
very  expensive,  although  probably  not  more  so,  than 
that  of  many  other  infirmities.  It  might  prove  that 
the  horse  accused  of  vices ^  such  as  shying,  balking, 
swervmg,  etc.,  had  none  such  from  inclination;  and 


94  MY   horse;  my   love. 

that  the  sight,  being  promptly  cured  of  its  defect,  re- 
lieved the  horse  of  such  odium." 

Has  any  other  remedy  been  found  for  this  trouble? 

"  If  the  object  about  which  a  balking  horse  is 
in  alarmed  doubt  can  be  brought  to  him  or  he  can  be 
coaxed  to  it,  so  that  he  can  see  it  closely,  and  can 
investigate  it  with  his  nose,  in  most  cases  he  will  be 
found  perfectly  willing  to  resume  his  journey,  and  will 
show  his  disgust  at  his  own  stupidity  by  a  disdainful 
sniff." 

Then  you  do  not  advocate  force,  whipping,  or  even 
coaxing? 

"  They  have  been  tried  too  often  not  to  produce 
their  own  moral.  As  I  have  said  before  the  sense 
of  smell  is  more  acute  in  the  horse  than  any  other 
sense.  The  point  of  his  nose  being  his  touch-point 
conveys  a  subtler  and  more  exact  meaning  to  his 
intelligence  and  reasoning  powers.  It  demonstrates 
facts  when  scenting  danger  from  afar,  a  distant 
object  is  either  magnified  or  indistinctly  seen  by  his 
startled  and  imperfect  eyes,  and  quick  imagination. 
He  is  satisfied  of  its  harmlessness  when  brought 
closely  enough  for  him  to  smell  of  it.  If  not  per- 
mitted to  examine  an  object  in  his  own  way,  he  will 
never  forget  in  passing  that  certain  locality,  that 
something  is  there  which  puzzles  and  frightens 
him.  He  will  manifest  always  the  same  repugnance 
toward  it,  the  same  disposition  to  shy  or  balk  in 
approaching  it." 

One  of  the  most  practical  ways  of  curing  a  balk- 
ing horse  was  told  lately  by  a  police-officer.  It  was 
to  lift  the  fore-leg  by  the  fetlock  and  hold  it  up  for 


BALKING. 


95 


three  minutes.  On  placing  the  foot  again  on  the 
ground  the  horse  would  go  on  as  if  nothing  had 
stopped  him. 

"Possibly  his  attention  was  thus  distracted  from 
what  had  caused  his  sudden  disinclination  to  move." 

Is  it  not  worse  than  stupid  that  the  driver  of  '^. 
balking  horse  will  not  explain  to  him  the  alarming 
object,  whether  it  be  an  engine  or  a  scarecrow? 

"  Ah,  dear  madam,  the  horse  is  too  often  regarded 
as  a  mere  machine,  without  common  sense  or  even 
common  instinct.  It  is  only  a  man  of  intelligence 
who  will  discover  the  same  quality  in  his  horse  and 
credit  him  with  'horse-sense.'  " 

I  notice  that  expression  quite  commonly  used. 
What  is  its  real  meaning? 

"  It  intends  to  convey  the  idea  of  ordinary  intelli- 
gence combined  with  quick  and  unerring  instinct 
which  together  prevent  mistakes.  Many  a  traveller 
owes  his  life  to  'horse-sense,'  when  if  left  to  his  own 
he  would  have  lost  it.  Afterward  with  what  nervous 
awe,  he  has  looked  upon  the  frail  and  narrow  bridge, 
spanning  a  rushing  torrent  far  below,  over  which 
his  faithful  sure-footed  beast  has  carried  him  in 
safety,  while  the  thunder  rolled  and  the  lightning 
flash  was  the  only  lantern,  to  point  out  the  dangerous 
path  in  the  inky  blackness  of  night!" 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

BLINKERS    AND    BLINDNESS. 

Do  you  advocate  the  use  of  blinkers? 

*'  Many  horses  are  better  without  them,  but  it 
would  be  not  only  absurd  but  dangerous,  to  drive  all 
horses  without  blinkers.  There  is  much  to  be  con- 
sidered in  the  method  used  in  the  early  training  of  a 
horse;  how  much  intelligence  his  trainer  possessed, 
and  how  much  he  gave  the  young  colt  credit  for. 
While  some  are  more  knowing  than  others,  all  horses 
have  a  certain  and  intimate  knowledge  of  their  own 
power  and  its  limitations,  and  their  inductions  are 
singularly  accurate." 

Then  you  believe  in  the  old  sa^T  "  As  the  twig  is 
bent  the  tree's  inclined?" 

"  It  should  never  be  forgotten  for  a  moment  in 
breaking,  training,  and  rearing  young  horses.  They 
have  a  surprising  memory  and  often  prove  the  fact 
to  one's  consternation.  An  examination  by  the 
optician  to  test  their  sight,  would  also  establish  the 
need  or  abolishment,  of  blinkers,  in  each  mdividual 
animal." 

Why  do  saddle-horses  never  wear  them? 

"  For  one  reason,  because  custom  has  established 
the  fashion.  It  is  obvious  that  a  horse  carrying  his 
burden,  can  travel  on  as  narrow  a  path  as  the  rider 

96 


BLINKERS    AND    BLINDNESS.  97 

himself,  and  oftentimes  more  surely.  Riding-horses 
swerve  and  shy  quite  as  much  as  carriage-horses; 
but  the  former  can  be  guided  to  a  disconcerting 
object  and  so  be  able  to  investigate  it,  while  the 
horse  that  is  pulling  a  vehicle  must  be  kept  in  the 
beaten  road." 

Is  a  horse  more  easily  managed  under  the  saddle? 

"  Undoubtedly.  A  good  rider  is  not  so  liable  to 
accident  as  the  driver  whose  horses  checked,  trussed, 
and  tortured  by  fashionable  harness  have  their 
natural  action  encumbered.  Forced  as  their  move- 
ments are  into  an  artificial  gait,  when  they  become 
thoroughly  alarmed,  the  ease  and  dash  with  which 
they  can  throw  off  all  restraining  bonds,  prove  their 
mighty  strength  and  make  man  feel  helpless  in  his 
own  inventions." 

Then  it  is  not  surprising  that  with  blinkers  or 
without  they  sometimes  get  unruly? 

"  The}^  know  well  the  power  or  lack  of  it,  of  the 
hand  which  guides  them,  and  the  voice  which  en- 
courages them  to  do  their  best." 

Is  the  martingale  an  essential  equipment  in 
riding? 

"It  bears  the  same  relation  to  the  riding-bridle 
that  the  bearing-rein  does  to  the  harness  of  a  horse 
driven.  The  latter  holds  up  and  back  the  horse's 
head  to  an  unnatural  position,  while  the  martingale 
pulls  it  down,  to  emphasize  the  arch  of  the  neck." 

Then  it  is  not  important? 

"  Not  in  the  least,  and  there  are  times  when  the 
use  of  it  is  very  dangerous.  Riding  with  a  party  of 
hunters  one  day,  we  came  to  a  fast-running  stream 
7 


98  MY  horse;  my  love. 

into  which  one  man  plunged  impetuously,  intending 
his  horse  to  swim  the  distance.  From  the  horse's 
struggles  I  realized  in  a  moment  that  the  martingale 
was  not  undone  and  the  horse's  nose  was  below  the 
water  line.  The  frantic  animal  soon  unseated  his 
brave  rider,  who  immediately  sank  before  our  eyes, 
having  been  kicked  in  the  desperate  effort  of  the 
poor  horse  to  free  his  head.  He  finally  found  the 
solid  ground  under  him,  and  came  ashore.  But  his 
rider,  one  of  the  best  horsemen  I  ever  knew,  rose  to 
the  surface  a  drowned  man;  and  all  our  efforts  to 
recuscitate  him  proved  unavailing — I  have  never 
since  found  any  use  for  the  martingale." 

What  are  the  principal  causes  of  blindness,  Count? 

"  If  the  nose-bone  be  affected  by  disease  the  nerves 
of  the  eyes  will  suffer,  and  unless  the  trouble  can 
yield  to  treatment,  as  it  does  in  man,  the  horse  will 
eventually  become  blind.  Knocking  in  the  head  or 
nostrils,  which  some  human  brutes  seem  to  think  an 
effectual  punishment;  striking  sharply  with  a  whip 
over  the  ears  and  head,  or  teeth  from  which  the 
enamel  is  broken  and  the  nerves  exposed ;  all  sooner 
or  later  affect  the  eyes  and  sight.  Pulling  daily 
very  heavy  loads  up-hill,  and  choking  with  tight  col- 
lars, as  well  as  the  sudden  passage  from  a  dark  stable 
to  the  bright  sunlight  or  dazzling  snow,  help  to  pro- 
duce blindness." 

Is  it  not  remarkable  the  way  in  which  blind  horses 
can  go  about,  avoiding  difficulties,  sliding  off  just 
in  time  to  escape  hitting  their  heads  against  a  fence 
or  stone  wall? 

"  For  this  reason  I  would  much  prefer  a  blind  horse 


BLINKERS    AND    BLINDNESS. 


99 


to  a  lame  one.  Their  sense  of  hearing  is  abnormally 
developed.  They  listen  always  to  the  echo  of  their 
own  footsteps,  which  tells  them  how  near  they  are 
to  an  object.  Their  olfactory  nerves  also  become 
preternaturally  sensitive,  and  warn  them  of  the  ap- 
proach of  persons  or  things.  They  know  their  mas- 
ter by  his  voice,  his  step,  his  smell,  his  touch,  quite 
as  well  as  a  horse  that  can  see.  Blindness  seems  to 
develop  all  their  affectionate  instincts.  They  par- 
ticularly love  their  mate  in  the  stable  or  in  driving; 
doing  their  share  of  work  cheerfully,  depending  on 
him  only  for  guidance,  and  if  separated  will  pine  and 
refuse  to  be  comforted." 

Then,  for  all  these  reasons,  he  will  not  deteriorate 
so  much  in  value? 

"  His  value  should  not  be  greatly  lessened,  as  his 
usefulness  is  by  no  means  at  an  end.  Conscious  of 
his  deficiency,  he  seems  always  most  anxious  to  do  his 
best,  while  any  natural  wilfulness  gives  place  to  the 
most  amiable  desire  to  be  led  or  guided,  only  that  he 
may  do  the  thing  required  of  him.  While  there  is 
nothing  that  more  appeals  to  the  sympathies  than  a 
blind  horse,  it  is  not  on  account  of  his  helplessness  so 
much,  as  because  of  his  exceeding  willingness,  and 
the  surprising  cleverness  of  his  sharpened  instincts." 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

TEETH    AND     TOOTHACHE. 

Is  it  true,  Count,  that  horses  are  great  sufferers 
from  toothache?  I  have  read  that  the  complaint  is 
the  real  cause  of  many  a  runaway,  attributed  to 
viciousness. 

"  I  believe  nothing  can  be  more  absurd  than  such 
a  statement.  Decayed  teeth  in  a  horse  are  most 
imnatural.  Of  course,  if  the  horse  be  constantly  fed 
on  something  sour,  which  creates  fermentation,  the 
enamel  may  become  broken  or  rotted  and  the  nerve 
may  in  time  be  exposed.  In  this  condition  a  frosty 
bit  will  cause  exquisite  pain ;  but  toothache,  as  we 
realize  it,  is  something  unknown  to  a  well-kept 
healthy  horse.  Filing,  cleaning,  evening,  and  there- 
by spoiling  the  horse's  teeth,  is  gypsy  work." 

How  do  you  mean? 

"  It  is  the  way  gypsies  often  take  to  earn  a  few 
dollars,  and  at  the  same  time  learn  the  secrets  of 
your  stable.  The  veterinar)/  surgeon  knows  better, 
and  nothing  is  gained  by  constantly  fooling  about  a 
horse's  mouth.  In  Europe  and  in  the  colleges  there 
such  things  would  excite  much  merriment  and  con- 
tempt— but  the  subject  has  been  presented  to  me 
before  in  this  country." 

The  age  of  a  horse  is  told  quite  distinctly  by  his 
teeth,  is  it  not?  But  I  have  never  understood  just  how. 


TEETH    AND    TOOTHACHE.  lOI 

*'The  young  horse's  teeth  meet  in  the  mouth,  edge 
to  edge,  being  upright.  Some  horses  are  parrot- 
mouthed,  so  that  the  upper  teeth  project  somewhat, 
but  the  back  ones  always  meet  squarely.  As  they 
grow  older  the  teeth  in  both  jaws  project  more  and 
more,  making  an  acute  angle,  until,  at  twenty  years 
of  age,  the  undersides  meet  together." 

Ah,  I  see.     Did  you  ever  pull  a  horse's  tooth? 

"  Never,  but  once.  The  horse  in  this  case  had 
what  are  called  Jforcme  teeth ;  that  is,  four  little  tusks 
growing  at  the  sides  of  the  mouth.  As  they  were 
not  attached  to  the  bone,  I  nipped  them  off  promptly 
with  the  forceps  with  little  pain  to  the  horse,  who 
was  greatly  relieved  to  be  rid  of  them." 

And  is  this  the  only  case? 

"  I  was  called  once  to  come  quickly  to  a  horse, 
supposed  to  be  suffering  from  lockjaw.  After  ex- 
amination I  could  assure  his  anxious  owner  that  the 
trouble  was  a  very  trivial  one.  A  tooth  in  the  upper 
jaw  had  broken  off,  and  just  opposite  to  it,  in  the 
lower  jaw,  was  a  tooth  projecting  nearly  an  inch 
above  the  others.  When  the  horse  closed  his  mouth 
in  eating,  the  projecting  tooth  fitted  nicely  into  the 
hollow  of  the  broken  tooth  above,  and  became 
wedged  or  locked." 

What  did  you  do? 

"  It  was  very  simple.  I  pried  open  his  mouth 
with  a  chisel  and  filed  off  the  long  tooth,  so  that 
there  was  no  further  danger  of  its  locking — an 
operation  which  the  horse  seemed  to  understand, 
and  bore  very  patiently." 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

LOCKJAW. 

Is  lockjaw  a  common  disorder? 

"  Fortunately  not,  being  very  dangerous." 

What  produces  it? 

"  Such  similar  causes  as  produce  it  in  man.  A 
nail  cutting  a  nerve  in  the  foot,  sometimes  a  splinter 
of  wood,  or  wounds  which  cause  great  inflammation 
and  poison  the  system.  Unless  great  care  be  taken 
in 'docking, '  lockjaw  is  likely  to  follow  the  opera- 
tion, and  it  is  seldom  that  a  horse  so  afflicted  can 
recover.  A  large  proportion  of  horses  docked  die  of 
lockjaw." 

Have  you  seen  the  late  controversy  about  corns 
on  horses'  feet.  Count,  and  do  you  consider  them 
curable? 

"Certainly,  they  can  be  cured,  if  great  care  be 
taken  in  shoeing,  for  it  is  the  shoe  which  produces 
corns.  The  quarter-hoof  should  never  have  a  nail 
in  it,  as  it  is  in  the  corners  where  come  the  bars  and 
the  crust  that  the  corn  has  its  beginning.  A  care- 
less blacksmith  will  cut  the  bars  and  open  the  frog, 
and  thus  open  the  hoof,  into  which  dirt  and  mud 
enter  and  find  an  abiding- place.  That  part  of  the 
shoe  which  goes  beyond  the  quarter-hoof  does  not 
even  -pretend  to  fit  the  foot  sometimes,   but  curves 

I02 


LOCKJAW.  103 

downward,  making  an  effectual  recess  between  the 
hoof  and  shoe,  for  the  accumulation  of  dirt  and  even 
small  pebbles.  These  foreign  substances,  if  not 
at  once  carefully  removed,  will  soon  produce  corns, 
which  if  in  turn  grow  too  high  will  develop  quitor. " 

What  is  that? 

"  It  is  a  species  of  tumor.  Then  an  operation 
must  be  made  by  cutting  this  tumor  open,  when  sup- 
puration will  follow  and  the  corn  can  be  permanently 
removed." 

Then  horses  who  have  never  worn  shoes  do  not 
have  corns? 

"  Certainly  not.  Corns  are  the  inevitable  result  of 
careless  shoeing.  Many  other  evils  also  follow  upon 
the  indifferent,  not  to  say  cruel  handiwork  of  the 
blacksmith.  I  have  seen  the  crust  of  a  horse's  foot 
perforated  like  a  sponge,  nail  upon  nail  having  been 
driven  into  it.  Every  nail,  more  than  is  absolutely 
necessary,  not  only  helps  to  impede  the  horse's  prog- 
ress, but  causes  him  often  great  suffering.  Nobody 
should  own  a  horse  who  cannot  afford  to  have  him 
properly  shod,  or  who  will  permit  him  to  wear  a 
worn-out  shoe,  simply  because  it  still  clings  to  the 
hoof.  The  lamina  is  exceedingly  sensitive,  and  iron 
nails  pressing  close  against  it  are  a  frequent  cause  of 
lameness.  The  shoe  should  be  nailed  neither  too 
high  nor  too  close  to  the  heel.  All  owners  of  horses, 
whether  for  the  saddle,  the  carriage,  or  the  plough, 
should  look  to  it  that  no  false  economy  in  the  matter 
of  proper  shoeing,  and  frequent  renewals  should 
tempt  them  to  reduce  the  value  of  their  animals,  as 
well  as  to  cause  to  them  great  pain  and  suffering. " 


I04  MY  horse;  my  love. 

Have  you  seen  many  horses  made  lame  by  imper- 
fect shoeing? 

"  It  is  only  too  common  a  fault.  Only  lately  a 
physician  called  me  to  look  at  his  horse,  remarking  at 
the  same  time  that  he  thought  'the  horse  must  be- 
come lame  on  purpose,  for  he  couldn't  discover  any- 
thing the  matter  with  him!'  He  said  further,  *The 
horse  will  go  all  right  for  ten  minutes  or  so  in  the 
morning,  and  will  then  suddenly  go  lame,  and  con- 
tinue so  the  rest  of  the  day.'  Well,  I  examined 
the  horse  carefully,  although  my  eye  had  lighted  on 
the  real  cause  at  once,  and  I  said:  'Now,  doctor,  you 
are  pretty  wise,  and  know  the  proportions  of  a  horse 
and  his  defects.  Stand  exactly  in  front  of  him  and 
tell  me  if  you  can  see  nothing  wrong. ' 

" 'No, '  replied  the  doctor,  'I'll  be  switched  if  I 
can,  and  I  believe  he  is  playing  off,  the  rogue!' 

"'Will  you  kindly  look  at  his  shoes?' 

"  The  doctor  lifted  first  one  hind  foot  and  then 
the  other.     'Nothing  the  matter  with  them.  Count.' 

"'Well,  go  on,  finish  your  inspection.' 

"  He  lifted  one  forefoot  and  then  the  other  and  a 
sudden  light  began  to  dawn  on  his  visage:  'Ah,  can 
it  be  so  simple  a  thing?' 

"'It  is  that,  and  that  is  all,'  said  I,  and  by  actual 
measurement  the  corks  on  the  shoe  of  one  fore- 
foot, were  a  full  inch  longer  than  all  the  others, 
and  so  lifted  the  horse  just  so  much  more  from  the 
ground." 

You  had  the  laugh  on  the  doctor  that  time, 
Count. 

"  Yes,  I  had,    and  he  went  off  half  mad  and  half 


LOCKJAW.  105 

pleased,  when  I  told  him  to  go  home  and  walk 
around  in  shoes,  one  with  a  heel  and  one  without, 
and  see  how  lame  he'd  go,  without  trying." 

There  are  many  different  causes  for  lameness,  of 
course? 

"  So  many  that  it  is  a  proof  of  much  care,  that  we 
see  so  few  lame  horses  in  the  street.  An  unprinci- 
pled stableman,  knowing  all  the  tricks  of  the  trade, 
in  order  to  spare  himself  a  day's  uncongenial  labor, 
can  quickly  lame  a  horse,  without  doing  him  more 
than  a  passing  injury.  These  things  are  so  common 
that  before  examining  a  horse  just  developing  some 
trouble,  I  make  a  sort  of  detective's  inspection  of 
the  groom,  and  seek  to  learn  something  of  his  habits, 
inclinations,  etc.  A  pin  in  the  fetlock,  a  hair  from 
the  tail,  threaded  in  a  needle,  and  run  through  the 
outer  and  middle  tendons  of  the  front  leg,  and  cut  off 
close  so  that  nothing  appears,  are  some  of  the 
detestable  tricks  occasionally  resorted  to  out  of 
petty  revenge,  which  I  mention  only  as  a  warning  to 
trusting  owners." 

What  are  your  notions  about  clipping.  Count? 

"Among  some  of  the  best  horsemen  there  is  a 
strong  prejudice  against  clipping  a  horse,  thus 
depriving  him,  during  the  cold  weather,  of  the  warm 
coat  Nature  provides.  It  would  be  most  cruel  to 
do  this,  when  a  horse,  by  reason  of  neglect,  was  per- 
mitted to  stand  after  heating  exercise,  without  being 
well  blanketed." 

I  suppose  the  argument  against  clipping  is  that  it 
is  against  nature? 

"Yes,  that  is  the  strongest  argument,  but  as  stab- 


io6  Mv   horse;  my   love. 

ling, driving,  and  even  domestication,  are  all  artificial 
conditions  it  cannot  well  stand." 

But  does  he  not  take  cold  more  readily  without  his 
winter's  coat? 

"  On  the  contrary,  a  horse  with  a  heavy  coat  is  all 
the  better  for  being  clipped,  and  is  not  nearly  in  so 
much  danger  of  taking  cold.  When  brought  in 
'sweating'  his  heavy  coat  will  not  dry  out  readily, 
and  imless  'worked'  an  hour  or  so  to  cool  him  off, 
will  chill  and  shiver,  even  under  the  blanket,  and 
that  dread  foe,  pneumonia,  may  follow.  A  clipped 
horse  is  rubbed  dry  in  a  few  moments,  and  being 
wrapped  in  his  warm  blanket,  he  is  in  a  glow  very 
soon.  Experience  proves  that  he  eats  better,  feels 
better,  will  do  more  work  cheerfully,  and  will  even 
keep  in  better  condition  and  sounder  health  on  less 
food." 

Clipping  certainly  improves  the  appearance  vastly. 

"No  doubt  of  it,  giving  the  idea  of  excellent 
grooming  and  care,  so  immediately  detected  in  the 
horse's  coat,  and  I  believe  it  adds  greatly  to  his  phys- 
ical comfort  and  well-being." 


CHAPTER  XX. 

ARAB    HORSES    IN    SOUTH    AMERICA. 

Are  not  Arab  horses  a  specialty  of  some  of  the 
South  American  states,  Count? 

"  It  is  a  matter  of  history  that  when  Pizarro  con- 
quered Peru  in  the  sixteenth  century,  he  carried 
from  Spain  less  than  a  score  of  Andalusian  Barbs. 
The  natives  had  never  seen  a  man  riding  astride  of 
an  animal,  and  their  wonder  deepened  into  terror 
and  dismay,  at  the  near  approach  of  this  little  band 
of  Centaurs.  Seeing  the  four  legs  surmounted  by  a 
human  body  and  head,  and  in  their  crude  supersti- 
tion imagining  it  to  be  some  new  species  of  aveng- 
ing animal,  the  Inca  natives  fled,  conquered  by  their 
fears.  Amused  by  this  easy  conquest  of  the  Lower 
Country,  Pizarro  took  his  army  of  vagabonds, 
gathered  in  Panama  and  amounting  to  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  men,  led  by  the  score  of  mounted 
Barbs,  to  the  royal  city  in  Peru  of  the  reigning 
Atahualpa.  Him,  he  took  prisoner  after  getting 
possession  of  the  city. 

"  Discovering  shortly  Atahualpa'shold  on  the  affec- 
tions of  his  people  by  the  enormous  ransom  they 
offered  for  his  redemption,  he  realized  that  such  a 
prince  would  be  a  dangerous  rival  to  his  own  in- 
fluence, and  ordered  his  execution.      This   was  os- 

107 


io8  MY  horse;  my  love. 

tensibly,  for  the  crime  of  unbelief;  but  it  was 
delayed  by  the  influence  of  a  pious  priest,  who  un- 
dertook to  explain  to  the  willing,  helpless  Pagan 
the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  He  was  unable  to  com- 
prehend it,  but  Pizarro  promised  him  that  he  should 
not  be  burned  to  death  if  he  would  give  him  a  room 
full  of  gold.  The  room  which  Pizarro  signified  was 
filled  with  gold,  but  the  poor  Pagan  ruler  of  the 
Incas  was  subsequently  butchered  by  the  treacherous 
Spaniard.  The  removal  of  this  powerful  monarch 
and  the  settlement  of  Pizarro's  quarrels  with  his 
partner  Almagro,  brought  tranquillity  to  the  con- 
quered land,  which  was  at  once  placed  under  colonial 
government,  subject  to  the  Spanish  crown. 

"  Stirring  reports  of  the  wonderful  wealth  in  pre- 
cious metals  of  this  Eldorado  having  gone  abroad, 
intense  excitement  among  all  classes  in  Spain  was 
created,  of  which  the  immediate  result  was  exten- 
sive emigration  to  the  new  country.  Thus  the  city 
of  Truxillo,  named  for  Pizarro's  birthplace  in  Spain, 
was  founded  in  the  department  of  Libertad.  Many 
of  this  colony  of  Spaniards  were  from  the  families  of 
grandees,  and  with  every  ship-load  of  emigrants 
came  its  quota  of  Andalusian  Barbs.  These  men, 
easily  making  slaves  of  the  amiable  natives,  devoted 
themselves  to  agriculture,  and  became  proprietors  of 
vast  domains.  In  the  vicinity  of  Truxillo  are  still 
two  haciendas,  devoted  to  the  breeding  of  horses, 
in  which  the  blood  of  these  imported  Arabs  remains 
pure  to  this  day.  Their  progeny  are  found  all  over 
Northern  Peru,  where  they  are  greatly  affected  as 
saddle-horses  by  military  officers,  political  dignita- 


ARAB    HORSES    IN    SOUTH    AMERICA.  I09 

ries  and  gentlemen  of  wealth.  They  are  never  har- 
nessed or  driven. 

"  One  of  the  uses  to  which  the  Arab's  grace,  agil- 
ity, and  intelligence  especially  fit  him,  is  the 
national  bull-fig-ht.  This,  in  Lima,  is  the  most 
perfectly-placed  specimoh'^Qf  its  kind  in  the  world. 
No  cruelty  is  permitted  there.  It  is  worth  the 
rider's  reputation  to  let  his  horse  be  injured,  as  those 
ridden  are  the  very  choicest  from  the  haciendas. 
They  are  trained  to  the  touch  of  the  knee,  both 
hands  of  the  rider  being  devoted  to  exciting  the 
wrath  of  the  bull.  As  the  toreador  waves  his  capa, 
which  conceals  from  the  horse,  the  furious  oncoming 
of  the  enraged  brute,  a  pressure  of  the  rider's  knees 
against  the  sides  of  the  perfectly  trained  Arab,  causes 
him  to  swerve  gracefully  aside,  and  the  bull  is  car- 
ried on  far  beyond,  by  his  own  momentum.  As  he 
returns  to  the  charge  the  horse  again  coquettes  with 
danger,  until,  to  the  sound  of  the  bugle,  he  prances 
out  of  the  arena,  to  let  a  second  horse  and  rider  take 
his  place.  Should  a  horse  be  injured  in  this  danger- 
ous play,  instead  of  exciting  the  plaudits  of  the 
audience — as  in  Madrid  and  Mexico,  where  the  most 
worthless  and  broken-down  are  used,  and  gored  to 
death — the  rider  would  have  to  encounter  the  angry 
curses  and  contemptuous  hisses  of  the  multitude. 

"  The  matador  on  foot,  whose  duty  it  is  to  finally 
kill  the  bull  by  a  sudden  and  direct  plunge  of  his 
long  sharp  sword  through  the  heart — thus  causing 
him  no  suffering — shows  wonderful  courage,  agility, 
and  cool  self-possession.  He  must  strike  with  uner- 
ring aim  or  his  own  life  will  probably  pay  the  forfeit. 


no  MY  horse;  my  love. 

"  The  scene  is  one  of  exciting  and  pleasing  interest 
to  the  audience,  which  may  hold  its  breath  in  cer- 
tain portions  of  it,  but  only  as  we  do  when  our  acro- 
bats take  a  flying  leap  from  the  topmost  height  of 
the  circus  tent.  The  bull,  having  been  killed 
instantly,  is  hitched  to  four  gayly-caparisoned  white 
mules;  and  as  a  concluding  funereal  ceremony  he  is 
dragged  around  the  vast  circle  of  the  amphitheatre, 
in  order  that  every  individual  may  get  a  glimpse  of 
the  creature  so  skilfully  slain.  Finally  he  is  dragged 
out  of  the  arena,  through  a  portal  under  an  archway, 
as  another  doomed  and  angry  bull  comes  plunging 
in,  excited  and  terrified  by  the  noise  of  exploding 
bombs  and  rockets,  the  loud  hurrahs  and  clapping 
of  hands,  and  the  deafening  clamor  of  the  military 
bands." 

There  is  a  new  idea  in  what  you  tell  me,  Count, 
in  this  fact,  that  not  very  far  away  from  us,  and  on 
our  own  continent,  are  horses  of  the  purest  Arab 
blood,  accessible  and  purchasable,  which  can  be 
bought  for  a  very  moderate  price. 

"  Certainly,  madam,  and  more  beautiful  and  more 
perfectly  trained  than  any  saddle-horse  to  be  seen  in 
New  York  City." 

Yes,  I  can  understand  that  when  it  comes  to  the 
breaking  and  training  of  horses  we  know  very  little 
about  it  in  comparison  to  those  who  are  entirely 
dependent  upon  them  in  their  journeyings;  whose 
travel  is  all  in  the  saddle ;  who  know  little  of  rail- 
roads and  almost  nothing  of  ordinary  wheeled 
vehicles. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

ARAB    HORSES    IN    NORTH    AMERICA. 

Since  all  European  Governments  recognize  the  im- 
portance of  Arab  blood  as  the  foundation  for  their 
national  horses,  has  America  been  clever  enough  to 
take  the  cue  from  them  and  follow  their  example? 

"Until  1861,  the  initial  year  of  America's  civil 
war,  the  foundation  blood  of  her  finest  horses  was 
the  choicest  from  England's  thoroughbreds.  This 
was  always  kept  strongly  reinforced  by  infusion  of 
the  blood  of  Arabian  horses. " 

And  was  America  able  to  secure  them  notwith- 
standing the  many  difficulties  of  purchase  and  im- 
portation? 

"An  Arab  stallion  now  and  then  found  his  way  to 
America,  through  the  persistence  of  travelers  in 
securing  them,  either  by  fair  means  or  foul.  Their 
coming  has  not  only  always  made  a  sensation,  but 
the  histories  of  their  departure  and  their  arrival  here, 
have  more  or  less  of  romance  and  mystery  attached 
to  them." 

There  is  no  doubt  of  that.  I  have  never  heard 
anything  about  any  individual  Arabian  horse  that 
was  not  interesting,  possibly  because  of  the  mystery 
that  seemed  to  surround  him,  and  the  very  natural 

III 


112  MY  horse;  my   love. 

wonderment  and  question  in  one's  mind  as  to  "how 
did  he  ever  get  here?" 

"Yes,  that  is  the  first  question  one  naturally  asks; 
for  stratagem  and  not  strictly  fair  dealing  has  been 
the  means  of  securing  most  of  them,  except  when 
they  have  been  presented  by  the  rulers  of  the  coun- 
tries whence  they  came." 

What  is  the  earliest  mention  of  their  importation 
to  this  country? 

"About  the  year  1600  the  arrival  of  two  famous 
Arabians  is  mentioned,  one  called 'Abdallah,'  and  the 
other,  Lindsley's  Arabian,  'Ranger.'  These  were 
the  first  known  progenitors  of  Arab  blood  in  this 
country.  Several  horses  have  been  called  for  the  first 
who  were  Abdallah  in  name  only,  and  not  in  blood, 
as  has  been  erroneously  supposed." 

And  what  Arabians  have  come  to  us  in  this  present 
century.  Count? 

"As  early  as  1820  Charles  D.  Cox,  United  States 
Minister  to  Tunis,  who  married  the  daughter  of  the 
Bey  of  Tunis,  was  presented  by  the  Bey  with  two 
Arab  stallions,  one  a  chestnut  and  the  other  a  sorrel. 
They  were  sent  over  the  seas  in  a  sailing  vessel,  and 
landing  safely,  were  kept  on  a  farm  in  Middlesex 
Co.,  New  Jersey.  The  sorrel  was  the  sire  of  the 
original  *  American  Star,'  the  founder  of  the  noted 
Star  family,  and  from  whom  the  Hambletonians 
derive  their  best  qualities." 

Was  not  Stamboul  an  imported  Arabian? 

"  Yes,  and  of  pure  blood.  Before  the  Minister  to 
Turkey,  Mr.  Rhind,  left  Constantinople  in  1832, 
he  sent  over  three  Arab  horses,  Zilcaadi,  Stamboul, 


ARAB    HORSES    IN    NORTH    AMERICA.  II3 

and  Yemen.  The  etiquette  between  the  two  na- 
tions made  it  impossible  for  Minister  Rhind  to  own 
them,  and  they  were  sold  for  the  benefit  of  the 
United  States  Government.  Yemen  was  taken  to 
South  Carolina.  The  Hon.  Henry  Clay  and  Hon. 
Mr.  Berriman,  then  senators  at  Washington,  were 
anxious  to  secure  this  noted  blood  to  their  own  State 
of  Kentucky,  and  so  bought  Zilcaadi  and  Stamboul.' 

It  must  have  been  their  progeny  then  that  have 
made  the  fame  of  Kentucky  horses? 

"  Doubtless,  madam,  for  from  Zilcaadi  came  the 
famous  'Gold-dust'  blood  of  that  State,  while  Beau- 
tiful Bells,  the  cherished  brood-mare,  owned  by 
Governor  Stanford  of  California,  is  a  granddaugh- 
ter of  Stamboul  on  the  maternal  side.  Then,  too, 
the  fastest  colt  ever  bred  by  the  late  R.  A.  Alexander 
of  Kentucky  was  from  a  granddaughter  of  Stam- 
boul." 

Was  Grand  Bashaw  not  an  Arab? 

"  He  was  a  Barb,  imported  to  Philadelphia  about 
182 1  from  Tripoli.  The  Logan  family  bred  and 
owned  young  Bashaw,  whose  sire  was  Grand  Bashaw, 
and  whose  dam  was  Fancy.  She  was  a  daughter  of 
Pearl,  who  was  a  daughter  of  imported  Messenger, 
four  times  inbred  to  Arabian  blood,  three  times  to 
the  Arab  Godolphin,  and  once  to  Barley's  Arabian. 
Messenger,  therefore,  was  the  sire  of  Pearl  on  the 
maternal  side." 

Henry  Clay  was  not  an  imported  horse,  was  he? 

"  No,  he  was  a  native  born  American,  but  was 
doubly  interbred  on  both  sides  to  Arab  blood.  This 
fact  made  him  a  phenomenal  sire,  and  many  of 
8 


114  -^^Y  horse;   mv   love. 

America's  fastest  trotting  horses  trace  back  their 
descent  to  old  Henry  Clay.  The  dam  of  Electioneer 
was  also  a  Clay." 

And  was  not  Electioneer  the  sire  of  Arion,  who 
has  lately  been  sold  for  $125,000  to  Mr.  Forbes  of  Bos- 
ton as  a  two-year-old? 

"  Certainly,  but  the  dam  of  Arion  was  three  times 
interbred  to  the  same  blood,  which  is  only  another 
proof  of  the  value  of  inter-breeding  to  pure  blood 
derived  from  the  Arab,  the  primitive." 

Is  not  Arion  a  near  relation  of  Axtell? 

"  Both  Axtell  and  Allerton  were  interbred  to  the 
same  blood  as  Arion's." 

Is  there  not  an  interesting  story  connected  with  the 
rearing  of  Axtell? 

"Ah,  yes,  and  one  which  proves  again  the  errors  of 
mismating,  and  the  folly  of  experiments  when  mon- 
grel blood  is  used.  Also  it  proves  the  fact  that  no 
type  of  horse  can  be  created  except  through  Arab 
blood,  and  that  all  game  qualities  are  due  to  that 
blood." 

Well,  what  is    the  story? 

"  Two  gentlemen  of  Dubuque,  Iowa,  purchased 
mares  of  fashionable  name,  to  breed  to  the  blood  of 
certain  other  fashionable  name  in  the  sires.  To 
their  great  disappointment  the  offspring  proved  an 
utter  failure,  and  the  mares  were  sold  for  a  song  as 
valueless.  Mr.  C.  N.  Williams  bought  the  two  for 
$225,  and  bred  them  to  the  same  blood  he  believed 
the  mares  possessed — the  Clay.  Each  in  time  pro- 
duced a  colt.  One  was  called  Axtell  and  the  other 
Allerton.     When   Mr.    Williams  had  offered  mares 


ARAB    HORSES    IN    NORTH    AMERICA. 


115 


ii6  MY  horse;  my  love. 

and  colts  for  $250  apiece,  and  no  purchaser  was  found, 
he  concluded  to  train  the  colts  himself.  Both  gave 
promise  of  rare  speed.  When  Axtell  beat  the 
record  at  2:12,  as  a  three-year-old,  the  offer  of 
$105,000  was  made  for  him  by  a  stock  company 
in  Indiana,  to  which  he  was  sold  at  the  price  offered. " 

Then  it  is  to  the  Arab-Clay  blood  predominating  in 
Axtell  which  explains  his  phenomenal  speed?  And 
what  became  of  Allerton? 

"  Mr.  Williams,  having  sold  Axtell,  began  the 
training  of  Allerton,  who  proved  the  better  horse,  for 
as  a  four-year-old  he  trotted  a  mile  in  2:10.  These 
two  colts  are  matched  against  each  other  for  a  purse 
of  $10,000,  but  Allerton  will  not  be  sold  for  less  than 
$200,000.  They  demonstrate  the  blood  cause  in  the 
most  satisfactory  manner. " 

Whence  comes  the  Wilkes  family? 

"  The  dam  of  George  Wilkes  was  a  daughter  of 
Henry  Clay,  which  blood  made  him  the  phenomenal 
sire  he  was.  Rysdyk's  Hambletonian  is  credited  to 
the  Wilkes  family." 

Was  there  not  a  famous  Arab  called  Black  Em- 
peror? 

"Yes,  madam.  Black  Emperor  was  a  Barb, 
although  registered  in  Bruce's  American  thorough- 
bred stud-book,  as  an  Arab.  He  was  presented  to 
the  ambassador  from  France  in  1857  by  the  Sultan  of 
Morocco.  Mr.  Scott,  an  American,  purchased  him 
in  Morocco  from  the  ambassador  for  $7,000.  He 
was  at  once  shipped  to  England  and  thence  brought 
to  America  by  Mr.  Scott,  who  subsequently  sold  him 
to   Mr.    John   B.   Hall,  of  Toronto,    Canada.     Black 


ARAB    HORSES    IN    NORTH    AMERICA.  Iiy 

Emperor  left  a  son  whom  Mr.  Hall  presented  to  his 
son-in-law,  President  H.  M.  Claflin,  of  Cleveland, 
Ohio.  This  son  was  known  as  Black  Emperor,  Jr., 
a  daughter  of  his — and  granddaughter  of  the  im- 
ported Arab,  Black  Emperor — made  a  visit  not  many 
5^ears  ago  to  Abdul  Hamid  II.  of  the  Americo-Arab 
Company  of  Long  Island.  The  result  was  the  colt, 
Fez,  who  will  be  shown  at  the  World's  Fair  Exposi- 
tion in  Chicago,  matching,  if  not  rivalling,  anything 
of  his  age  there  on  exhibition." 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

SECRETARY    SEWARD's    ARABS. 

Did   not   the  horses  brought  out  by  William  H. 
Seward  create  some  sensation  and  controversy? 

"  Undoubtedly  so.  Mr.  4Beward  was  sent  to  Syria 
to  adjust  some  difficulties  between  the  two  govern- 
ments. The  matter  was  finally  settled  in  the  crimi- 
nal courts  and  was  so  amicably  and  satisfactorily 
adjusted  that  the  Syrian  government,  to  show  its 
appreciation  of  Mr.  Seward's  clever  diplomacy, 
asked  him  to  express  some  wish  which  it  was  in 
their  power  to  gratify.  Mr.  Seward,  always  inter- 
ested in  the  agricultural  needs  of  his  country,  espe- 
cially of  New  York  State,  replied  that  if  the  Syrian 
government  w^ould  help  him  to  procure  some  pure- 
blooded  Arabs  to  send  home,  they  would  not  only 
confer  upon  him  a  personal  favor,  but  would  also 
benefit  the  United  States  more  than  in  any  other 
way.  At  that  time  there  were  some  beautiful  Arabs 
under  the  control  of  the  Syrians.  Of  these  the  clerk 
of  the  Criminal  Court  selected  a  blood-bay  stallion, 
eight  years  old,  and  a  chestnut  colt,  two  years  old; 
also  a  white  mare,  who,  unfortunately,  died  on  the 
way.  They  arrived  in  iS6o,  the  expenses  of  their 
journey  amounting  to  $10,000. 

"  Mr.  Seward  offered  them   as  a  gift  to  the  Ncv\7 
118 


SECRETARY    SEWARD'S    ARABS.  II9 

York  State  Agricultural  Society  if  the  society  would 
pay  the  expenses  of  their  importation.  It  was  a  poor 
return  for  Mr.  Seward's  generosity — even  when  ex- 
cused by  the  great  excitement  attendant  upon  the 
breaking  out  of  the  civil  war — that  they  refused  to 
comply  with  his  very  just  proposal.  In  this  emer- 
gency, as  he  had  sought,  in  the  acceptance  of  the 
gift,  to  benefit  his  country,  he  presented  the  two- 
year-old  colt  to  Mr.  Ezra  Cornell  of  Ithaca,  N.  Y., 
and  the  stallion  to  Hon.  John  E.  Van  Etten  of  Kings- 
ton, N.  Y." 

And  what  of  their  progeny? 

"  The  stallion  was  known  to  be  the  sire  of  only  two 
animals.  One  was  a  gray  filly,  bred  by  Judge  West- 
brook  of  Kingston,  and  the  other  a  colt,  bred  by  a 
nephew  of  Judge  Sackett  of  Auburn,  N.  Y.  The 
colt  was  shown  as  a  three-year-old  in  the  State  Fair 
at  Rochester,  and  won  a  special  gold  medal  for  being 
the  handsomest  horse  on  the  grounds.  Subsequently 
he  was  sold  to  Canton,  Ohio,  where  he  died  leaving 
two  fillies  only.  They  are  now  owned  by  the  Myers' 
stock-farm  at  Canton." 

What  became  of  the  chestnut  colt? 

"  Ah,  poor  fellow,  he  died  simply  from  neglect, 
the  war  just  then  causing  such  absorption  of  all 
men's  thoughts,  that  all  things  else  seemed  of  little 
importance.  At  that  time  many  of  our  best  and 
most  noted  trotters  were  always  spoken  of  with  pride, 
as  coming  from  Arab  ancestors.  Morgan  was  an 
Anglo-Arabian,  and  the  dam  of  Dolly  Spanker,  an 
inbred  Morgan  mare,  while  Sherman  Morgan  and 
Buckshot  were  doubly  inbred  to  Morgan.     Gano  was 


120  MY  horse;  my  love. 

by  American  Eclipse,  who  also  boasted  the  Arab 
strain.  Thus  it  was  that  the  Arab  blood  was  spread 
throughout  the  United  States  up  to  1 86 1.  It  was  not 
only  known  and  most  highly  valued  by  intelligent 
breeders,  but  was  considered  absolutely  essential  to 
the  making  of  a  perfect  horse." 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

SELIM. 

All  these  imported  horses  that  you  have  spoken  of, 
Count,  were  presents  or  purchased  with  the  consent 
of  the  "powers  that  be."  In  what  cases  was  strata- 
gem used? 

"Judge  Richard  Jones,  of  Lower  Merion,  Mont- 
gomery Co.,  Penn.,  who  had  been  appointed  consul 
to  Morocco  from  that  district,  was  an  exceptionally 
honest  man.  But  much  against  his  inclination  he 
finally  resorted  to  stratagem,  in  order  to  secure  the 
famous  'Selim.'  During  the  whole  term  of  his  con- 
sulate, about  1840  to  1845,  ^^  tried  in  various  ways 
to  buy  this  horse  who  had  so  captivated  his  fancy, 
but  the  Sultan  forbade  the  sale  and  export,  and  the 
owner  fought  shy  of  the  judge." 

But  you  say  he  finally  secured  him? 

"  He  reasoned  with  himself  a  long  time  before  he 
would  admit  the  temptation  which  was  gradually 
conquering  him.  His  servant,  a  native,  understood 
perfectly  the  struggle  in  his  master's  mind,  and  hav- 
ing become  much  attached  to  him,  determined  to 
help  him. 

"'You  want  Selim,  Effendi?' 

"'I  do,  indeed,  Rustam,  but  they  won't  listen  to 
his  being  sold. ' 


122  MY    horse;    my    LOVE. 

"'No,'  said  Rustam,  shaking  his  head,  'nobody 
can  buy  Selim,  he  too  good  horse  to  go  away  over 
the  sea.      What  will  the  Effendi  pay  for  Selim?' 

"'I  will  gladly  give  $4,000  for  him,  but  I  tell  you 
he  can't  be  bought. ' 

"  'The  Effendi  is  right.  If  the  Effendi  try  to  take 
Selim,  wicked  men  kill  Effendi.' 

"  'Well,  I  might  as  well  give  it  up,  Rustam,  and  as 
I  sail  for  home  in  a  day  or  two  I  must  go  without 
my  beauty.      It  is  too  bad!' 

"Rustam  soliloquized:  'The  Effendi  sail  to-mor- 
row night.  No  moon — all  dark.  Four  thousand  dol- 
lars!'    Aloud,  'Rustam  very  sorry,  Effendi.' 

"With  a  sharp  look  at  Rustam — 'Get  out,  you 
miserable  tempter!  I'm  an  honest  man  and  must 
go  without  Selim.' 

"  The  ship  still  lay  at  anchor  the  next  night  on  a 
dark  sea,  lashed  to  quiet  by  the  torrents  of  rain  that 
were  descending.  The  judge  paced  up  and  down  on 
the  covered  deck  thinking  sadly  of  his  disappoint, 
ment  and  wondering  what  caused  so  unusual  a  com- 
motion on  the  ship,  when  Rustam  suddenly  appeared 
before  him: 

" 'What  brings  you  here,  Rustam?'  said  the  startled 
judge. 

" 'Rustam  steal  Selim  away!  Effendi  very  good 
master!     Selim  here  on  ship,  he  go  too. ' 

'"You  rascal!  Is  it  possible  you  have  stolen 
Selim  and  have  brought  him  here  on  board?' 

"With  excited  affirmative  gesture:  'Yes,  yes, 
Effendi.  Selim  come  with  me!  Nobody  know 
where  he  go!     Rustam  take  money,  put  in  Selim "s 


SELIM.  123 

place !  Gold  good !  Make  owner  rich  !  Buy  more 
horsel     Too  late,  now,  Selim  stay  here!' 

"  The  temptation  was  toe  great  for  the  judge,  and 
counting  out  the  $4,000  in  gold  he  handed  it  to  his 
faithful  servant,  knowing  it  would  find  its  way  to 
Selim 's  owner.  Not  forgetting  Rustam's  service  he 
rewarded  him  liberally,  and  bade  him  depart,  as  the 
ship  was  about  to  set  sail. 

"  The  judge  and  Selim  arrived  in  due  time  and  in 
good  condition  at  the  judge's  farm.  Selim 's  blood 
laid  the  foundation  for  the  finest  breed  of  horses 
ever  raised  in  that  country.  His  arrival  caused 
a  furore  among  the  breeders,  all  anxious  to  secure  his 
blood.  Among  others,  Jonathan  Roberts,  then 
United  States  senator,  bred  to  him,  and  owned 
several  of  his  colts,  among  whom  were  Murad  Bey 
and  Selimair.  As  late  as  1861,  Selim  was  sent  from 
Philadelphia  and  shown  at  Mineola,  L.  I.,  at  the 
State  Fair,  as  a  'noted  gray  Arab  stallion.'  He  was 
small,  gray  in  color,  and  had  all  the  finest  points  of 
the  'true  air-drinker  of  the  desert'  " 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


ABDALLAH. 


Has  the  importation  of  any  other  Arab  a  similar 
history,  Count? 

"  I  remember  talking  with  an  old  sea-captain  some 
twenty  years' ago,  and  he  related  these  facts:  Many 
years  before  he  had  been  in  command  of  a  trading 
schooner  plying  between  New  York  and  Morocco. 
As  he  was  about  to  set  sail  from  the  latter  port  on 
his  return  voyage,  he  had  been  very  busy  all  day 
superintending  the  shipping  of  the  cargo.  The  dark- 
ness fell  early  and  the  night  was  black  with  threat- 
ening clouds,  so  that  the  sailors  had  quit  work,  had 
eaten  their  rations,  and  were  about  to  turn  in,  when 
the  ship  was  signalled  from  the  shore.  Soon  a  boat 
lay  alongside,  and  a  voice  from  it  desired  speech  of 
the  captain.  After  a  few  moments'  conference,  he 
decided  to  go  ashore.  As  he  landed,  there  stood  im- 
patiently waiting,  a  Moor.  Beside  him,  pawing  the 
ground  and  sniffing  the  salt  air,  was  a  horse  of  the 
most  beautiful  proportions,  and  with  every  mark  of 
the  finest  blood.  The  Moor  wasted  no  words  in  ex- 
planation, but  requested  the  captain  to  take  the 
horse  aboard  his  schooner,  carry  him  to  New  York, 
and  deliver  him  in  safety  to  the  person  to  whom  he 
was  consigned.     There  was  no  time  to  demur  and  a 

124 


ABDALLAH.  1 25 

good  round  sum  in  gold  being  counted  out,  in  pay- 
ment of  the  horse's  passage,  with  some  difficulty  the 
young  Arabian  stallion  reached  at  last  the  deck  of 
the  schooner. 

*'  The  Moor  then  confided  to  the  captain  these 
facts.  A  very  large  sum  of  gold  had  been  paid  for 
the  Arab,  which  was  of  Abdallah  breed,  with  direc- 
tions that  he  should  be  shipped  to  America.  But  the 
tribe,  of  which  he  was  the  pride,  and  from  which  he 
had  been  purchased,  finding  that  the  owner  resented 
their  interference  in  his  sale,  appealed  to  the  Sultan. 
The  Sultan  at  once  forbade  the  departure  of  the  horse 
from  the  country,  and  the  American  consul's  author- 
ity was  also  called  into  requisition  to  prevent  it. 
While  the  dispute  still  raged,  the  wily  Moor  was 
flying  toward  the  coast  under  cover  of  the  darkness 
with  the  result  described.  The  captain  remembered 
well,  being  greatly  impressed  by  it,  how  the  Moor, 
to  prove  his  horse's  ancestry  had  pointed  out  to  him 
the  marks  branded  with  a  fine  needle,  which  were 
written  on  the  inside  of  each  foreleg,  thereby  telling 
the  story  of  his  birth." 

And  was  he  the  progenitor  also  of  a  race  of  fine 
horses? 

"  Unfortunately,  no ;  for  he  lived  but  a  short  time 
after  reaching  America. " 

Then  this  may  have  been  the  "  Abdallah"  which 
died  on  Long  Island  many  years  ago,  from  starva- 
tion? 

"It  is  impossible  to  tell,  for  there  is  much  mystery, 
and  many  uncertain  statements  have  been  made  about 
the  fisherman's  Arab,  which  was  allowed  to  starve  to 


126  MY    HORSE;    MY    LOVE. 

death  on  the  Long  Island  coast.  The  old  sea-captain 
believed  it  to  be  the  Abdallah  Arab  he  had  brought 
over,  as  no  trace  of  him  could  he  find.  The  Abdallah 
had  never  been  broken  to  harness  or  the  plough,  and 
the  fisherman,  into  v^hose  hands  it  was  supposed  he 
had  fallen,  vexed  by  his  proud  spirit,  which  could 
brook  no  such  humiliating  labor  as  was  required  of 
him,  turned  him  out  in  disgust  rather  than  be  at  the 
trouble  and  expense  of  feeding  him." 

I  have  heard  it  claimed  by  some  Long  Island  na- 
tives that  the  Abdallah  who  died  thus  was  Abdallah 
only  in  name  and  not  in  blood ;  although  he  was  sup- 
posed to  be  the  sire  of  Rysdyk's  Hambletonian, 
whose  dam  was  a  Conestoga  draught-mare.  This 
horse,  Abdallah,  it  is  said,  could  neither  trot  nor  run, 
was  lazy  and  vicious,  and  the  fisherman's  patience 
coming  to  an  end,  he  turned  him  out  to  find  a  living 
for  himself. 

*'The  identity  of  this  horse  has  never  been  fully 
established,  but  it  is  plain  to  be  seen  that  any  creature 
turned  out  on  the  barren  sands  of  the  Long  Island 
coast  would  have  little  chance  to  find  a  living,  and 
miist  inevitably  die  from  lack  of  both  food  and 
water. " 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE    AMERICAN    HORSE. 

Was  our  civil  war  so  immensely  destructive  of  our 
best  horses,  Count? 

"Alas,  yes!  the  war  almost  depleted  the  country 
of  its  thoroughbreds.  I  had  not  yet  found  a  home 
in  America,  but  all  Europe  rang  with  accounts  of 
the  hearty  response,  and  self-forgetting  rush  to  arms, 
which  was  made  by  men  of  all  classes,  in  defense  of 
their  country  and  its  honored  institutions." 

Ah,  Count,  that  was  but  the  practical  expression 
of  a  noble  patriotism !  There  are  many  large  and 
generous  hearts  in  America,  and  each  individual 
man  and  woman  longed  to  help,  if  only  a  little.  I 
know  that  the  farmers  and  owners  of  valuable  breeds 
offered  willingly  to  the  government  their  most 
precious  possessions,  their  horses,  and  begged  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  to  accept  them.  The  proportion  of 
horses  to  men  was  one  hundred  to  one,  and  it  seems 
incredible  that  so  many  should  have  been  slain ! 

"  It  seems  so,  but  those  offered  were  the  best  and 
finest  in  the  land,  and  were  the  stallions  and  geld- 
ings. The  mares  were  left  at  home  for  the  very 
good  reason  that  in  battle  they  are  likely  to  stam- 
pede and  create  a  panic  through  fright.  Horses 
have  more  nerve.  The  beat  of  the  drum,  the  call  to 
arms,  the  familiar  toot  of  the  bugle  and  horn,  and  the 

127 


128  MY    HORSE;    MY    LOVE. 

stirring  inarch  of  the  regimental  band,  are  music  in 
their  ears,  and  an  impulse  to  their  going.  ' 

Very  true,  and  every  soldier  has  something  to 
tell  of  the  surprising  and  intelligent  faithfulness  of 
his  horse  in  battle.  Hov;^  many  I  have  heard  grieve 
over  their  loss  or  their  wounds!  They  seemed  ever 
bound  together  in  a  mutual  love,  the  soldier  for  his 
horse,  and  the  horse  for  his  maUer. 

'•  Up  to  that  time  the  foundation  blood  of  America's 
best  horses  was  the  choicest  from  England's  thor- 
oughbreds, which  was  always  kept  strongly  reinforced 
by  infusion  of  Arabian  blood.  For  fifty  years  New 
England  had  been  proud  of  her  Morgan  horse  created 
from  Arab  blood.  New  York  and  Long  Island 
boasted  with  proper  spirit  of  the  families  of  Henry 
Clay  and  Andrew  Jackson,  while  Long  Island  was 
the  home  of  the  famous  Messenger  of  direct  Arab 
blood,  and  also  of  Wildair,  inbred  to  Arab  blood. 
The  latter,  after  importation  from  England,  was  so 
highly  prized  there  that  he  was  repurchased." 

Then  it  was  these  noted  stallions  who  were  the  pro- 
genitors of  the  finest  horses  in  the  country,  and  who 
gave  the  foundation  blood  to  all  the  trotting  speed  of 
which  America  could  then  boast? 

"  Yes,  madam,  but  when  this  immense  army  of 
horses  was  sent  to  the  front,  the  mares  at  home  were 
left  without  mates  equal  to  them  in  blood.  Only  the 
basest  of  stallions,  in  fact,  the  commonest  mongrels 
were  left  to  mate  with  these  blooded  mares.  As  the 
progeny  of  mongrel  blood  does  not  'train  on'  with 
successive  generations,  the  reproduction  of  thorough- 
bred horses  was  an  impossibility.      From  this  time 


THE    AMERICAN    HORSE.  1 29 

dates  the  advent  of  what  is  known  as  the  American 
horse.  No  heavier  blow  to  the  reputation  of  Ameri- 
can horse-breeders  could  have  fallen  than  this,  for 
it  is  impossible  to  create  a  type  from  a  mongrel  of  any 
animal,  except  a  mongrel." 

Then  it  is  conceded,  after  long  experiment,  that  no 
valuable  type  can  be  created,  except  through  the  infu- 
sion of  pure  blood? 

"Yes,  madam,  we  may  say  that  we  have  an  Ameri- 
can horse  with  certain  characteristics  of  much  money 
value  to  his  owner;  but  does  it  reproduce  with  cer- 
tainty any  quality  that  is  in  demand  by  any  other 
nation?  Alas!  it  is  only  too  well  proved  that  the 
American  trotting  horse,  bred  experimentally,  in  so 
many  cases,  does  not  reproduce  two  per  cent,  of  trot- 
ting speed.  From  Maine  to  the  Pacific  coast  the 
country  is  flooded  with  horses  which  have  no  type, 
are  uncertainly  bred,  and  unintelligently  trained, 
which  are  not  in  demand  for  export,  and  at  which  all 
foreign  nations  may  shrug  disdainful  shoulders." 

But,  Count,  are  you  not  very  hard  on  us?  Think 
of  our  magnificent  trotters  who  beat  the  world  I 
Sunol  and  Arion,  and  Axtell,  and  Allerton ! 

"  Yes,  they  have  earned  a  world-wide  fame,  prov- 
ing the  exception  to  the  rule.  But  have  they  not 
come  by  accident,  as  it  were,  and  without  any 
surety  beforehand,  of  their  being  anything  phenom- 
enal? Within  the  last  few  years  only  have  the 
breeders  here,  with  the  exception  of  a  very  few 
scientific  men,  begun  to  realize  their  own  ignorance 
and  foolish  mistakes  in  getting  away  from  the  blood 
cause.  There  is  a  little  secret  about  breeding  to 
9 


I30 


MY  horse;  my  love. 


THE    AMERICAN    HORSE.  I3I 

make  the  produce  sure,  which  it  takes  the  uninitiated 
a  long  time  to  find  out,  and  which  many  American 
breeders  have  not  yet  discovered." 

Then  those  who,  tired  of  experiments,  have  begun 
to  follow  out  certain  inevitable  laws  in  mating,  are 
those  who  have  met  with  success? 

"  Yes,  and  proud  of  it  they  may  well  be '  They 
alone  have  saved  the  vanishing  reputation  of  the 
American  trotter." 

Do  we  not  export  our  trotting-horses^ 

'*Once  in  a  while  a  phenomenal  trotter  with  a 
wide  reputation  is  sent  over  to  the  other  side ;  but 
they  are  not  exported  as  a  type,  or  to  take  the  first 
place  in  a  stud  of  thoroughbreds,  although  they  are 
universally  admired." 

But  only  lately  the  Czar  of  Russia  asked  Governor 
Stanford  for  an  exchange  of  trotting  mares  with  his 
Russian  Orloffs.  Would  not  both  countries  be 
mutually  benefited  by  such  an  exchange? 

"  If  fine  trotting  mares  are  sent  from  America  the 
Czar  may  get  the  best  of  the  bargain,  or  as  a  Russian 
saying  goes,  'He  will  have  the  hatchet,  and  we  shall 
get  the  handle."  " 

Are  the  Orloffs  trotters? 

"  Yes,  madam,  but  their  gait  is  very  different 
from  that  of  the  American  trotter.  When  the  Orloff 
trots  he  leaves  always  a  certain  distance  between  his 
hind  and  fore-legs  The  American  trotter  throws  his 
hind  legs  ahead  of  his  fore-legs  at  every  step,  his 
hind  legs  being  of  abnormal  length.  The  step  of 
the  Orloff  is  more  graceful,  inherited  directly  from 
the  best  of  the  Turcoman  horses." 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

"standard  bred"  horses. 

Do  we  not  export  other  animals  than  horses? 

"  Yes,  certainly,  hogs  in  barrels  and  butchered 
bullocks  in  ice,  if  you  will  kindly  excuse  the  blunt- 
ness  of  the  statement.  With  all  the  vast  and  un- 
paralleled facilities  in  this  magnificent  country  for 
growing  live  stock — which  it  is  estimated  can  be 
done  ninety  per  cent,  cheaper  here  than  in  any  coun- 
try in  Europe — America  exports  no  animals  except 
as  they  go  to  be  butchered." 

Can  this  be  true,  Count? 

"Ah,  madam,  if  you  will  read  the  statistics  you 
will  see  that  it  is  by  the  continued  annual  importation 
of  breeding  stock  from  England  and  Scotland  that  the 
cattle  in  the  great  West  do  not  deteriorate.  Is  it  to 
the  credit  of  this  great  continent,  with  its  vast  graz- 
ing lands,  its  fertile  valleys,  its  unlimited  supply  of 
fresh  spring  water,  its  spreading  shade  trees,  its 
beneficent  if  changeable  climate,  that  we  import,  in 
almost  all  cases,  our  thoroughbred  animals  instead  of 
mating  properly,  and  breeding  intelligently,  and  so 
creating  types  of  our  own?" 

Then  it  is  true  that  we  pay  from  five  to  seven  mill- 
ions of  dollars  annually  to  France  and  England 
alone  for  the  importation  of  brood-stock? 

132 


STANDARD    BRED        HORSES.  133 

"  Yes,  those  are  the  figures.  The  type  is  destroyed 
here  at  once  by  crossing,  and  dealers  abroad  profit 
by  this  continued  mistake — the  destruction  of  the 
types — and  are  therefore  not  averse  to  its  encourage- 
ment, so  long  as  their  animals  continue  in  demand. 
As  soon  as  the  various  types  of  English  horses  are 
brought  over,  they  are  mongrelized  by  constant 
crossings,  and  thus  the  type  cannot  be  sustained," 

Do  you  know,  Count,  that  England  is  to  be  repre- 
sented by  seven  different  types  of  horses  at  our 
World's  Fair  Exposition  at  Chicago  in  1893? 

"Ah,  yes,  England  will  be  well  represented  there 
in  that  matter;  for  she  sends  not  only  her  horses, 
but  her  sheep,  cattle,  hogs,  and  fowls  all  over  the 
world  for  brood  purposes.  Her  different  families  of 
thoroughbreds,  all  created  from  the  Arab  blood,  are 
in  demand  by  every  other  civilized  nation  for  the  pur- 
pose of  creating  new  and  perfect  types." 

Well,  Count,  I  wonder  if  you  can  guess  how  many 
types  of  American  horses  are  to  be  represented  at 
our  World's  Fair  in  1893? 

"  Madam,  you  puzzle  me  by  such  a  question — 
please  explain." 

The  World's  Fair  Commission  allows  fourteen 
classes  of  horses  for  awards.  Of  these  classes  seven 
are  of  English  created  types,  three  of  French,  one  of 
Belgian,  one  of  German,  all  created  from  the  Arab, 
and  one  from  the  Shetland  Isles.  The  one  that  is  left 
is  to  be  devoted  to  the  American  "  Standard-bred. " 
To  all  our  great,  free,  boundless,  boasting  Yankee 
nation,  we  are  entitled  to,  and  I  suppose  satisfied 
with,  one  kind  of  horse.     I  could  hardly  believe  my 


134  MY  horse;  my  love. 

own  eyes  when  I  read  the  little  pamphlet  which  told 
of  this  remarkable  distribution  of  honors  and  awards. 

"But,  madam,  there  is  but  one  horse  in  America 
which  approaches  a  type,  and  that  is  the  'Standard- 
bred.  '  " 

And  how  does  the  term  come? 

"  It  is  entirely  arbitrary.  No  American  horse  can 
be  entered  at  the  Columbian  Exposition  unless  he 
be  'Standard-bred'  according  to  the  register,  and  for 
the  privilege  of  entry  his  owner  must  pay  so  much." 

Is  there  not  strong  indignation  at  this  injustice  to 
other  classes? 

"  Undoubtedly,  and  praiseworthy  efforts  are  being 
made  by  horsemen  to  change  a  rule  'better  honored 
in  the  breach  than  in  the  observance. '  " 

What  is  the  real  meaning  of  the  term  "  Standard- 
bred?" 

"  It  means  that  the  only  excellence  in  the  horse 
considered  necessary  is  speed  at  an  established 
rate.  If  he  can  trot  in  2  :^o  he  is  entitled  to  be  con- 
sidered 'Standard-bred,'  or,  if  having  been  gambled 
in  races,  he  has  beaten  some  other  horse,  he  may 
aspire  to  the  dubious  distinction." 

Then  it  describes  no  type;  it  belongs  to  no  family; 
it  can  prove  no  ancestry? 

"What  you  say  is  all  true,  madam." 

Well,  one  might  as  well  say  a  cow  is  "Standard- 
bred,"  when  she  gives  fifteen  quarts  of  milk  a  day, 
and  is  not  so  when  she  fails  to  give  so  much.  Or, 
that  a  dog  is  no  setter  unless  he  makes  so  many 
points  an  hour.  The  name  must  include  many 
horses   that  are   not   desirable,    and   exclude    many 


STANDARD    BRED        HORSES.  I35 

Others  who  deserve  not  to  be  thus  humiliated.  vSo 
the  distinction  of  being  "  Standard-bred,"  according 
to  an  arbitrary  register,  cannot  be  flattering  to  our 
national  pride. 

"  After  all,  madam,  it  is  only  a  convenient  term 
adopted  for  want  of  a  better,  and  to  cover  possibly 
many  deficiencies.  Breeders  and  owners  will  want 
to  exhibit  such  horses  as  show  the  true  virtues  of 
noble  descent,  so  doubtless  the  World's  Fair  Com- 
missioners will  realize  the  justice  of  this  before  it  is 
too  late. " 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

GENERAL    GRANT's    HORSES. 

I  HAVE  understood  that  Governor  Stanford  believes 
with  Mr.  Bonner  that  thoroughbred  blood  in  the 
trotter  is  the  essential  which  makes  and  breaks 
records;  that  cold  blood  has  not  the  staying  quality 
of  thoroughbred  blood,  and  that  an  infusion  of  it 
is  necessary  to  give  suppleness  to  the  knee  joints,  as 
well  as  many  other  qualities  which  are  desirable. 

"  Governor  Stanford  has  been  highly  successful 
with  the  scientifically  bred,  and  carefully  reared, 
members  of  his  stud.  It  is  said  that  California,  par- 
ticularly that  part  of  it  subject  to  the  invigorating 
coast  winds,  is  destined  to  become  the  horse-breed- 
ing district  of  the  nation.  That  in  California,  with 
its  twelve  months'  freedom  from  such  inclement 
weather  that  horses  need  not  be  closely  stabled,  not 
losing,  as  they  do  elsewhere,  four  or  five  months  of 
fresh  air  and  regular  exercise,  all  the  equine  Aristoc- 
racy of  America  will  be  found  sooner  or  later." 

Do  Governor  Stanford,  Mr.  Bonner,  and  others 
breed  only  trotting  horses? 

"  Undoubtedly  the  horse  most  in  popular  favor 
here  is  the  trotting  horse.  If  he  can  trot  in  2  130  so 
much  the  better,  for  then  he  is  sure  to  have  undisputed 
sway  as  a  race-horse,  especially  in  the  small  West- 

136 


GENERAL    GRANT  S    HORSES. 


137 


138  MY  horse;  my  i.ove. 

ern  towns.  Here  and  there  I  have  discovered  a 
horse  with  excellent  blood  lines,  in  the  most  obscure 
places.  Only  the  other  day,  in  this  almost  deserted 
village,  I  was  attracted  by  the  step  and  air  of  a 
little  black  mare  pulling  a  butcher's  cart.  Falling 
into  conversation  with  her  owner,  the  butcher,  I 
took  a  quick  mental  survey  of  the  mare,  and  was  con- 
vinced that  she  only  needs  proper  training  to  do  a 
day's  work  at  fast  trotting,  which  means  one  hun- 
dred miles  in  ten  consecutive  hours." 

Have  you  ever  known  a  horse  to  make  such  time 
as  that? 

"  Yes,  I  knew  of  one  who  had  no  special  record,  who 
travelled  one  hundred  miles  in  nine  hours  and  forty- 
five  minutes.  That  is  where  the  Arab  will  always 
win  over  the  English  thoroughbred.  The  latter  may 
outrun  the  Arab,  in  the  races  for  which  he  has  been 
trained,  but  when  the  thoroughbred  begins  to  show 
signs  of  fatigue  the  Arab  is  just  'getting  down'  to 
work." 

I  wonder  did  the  butcher  know  what  a  prize  he 
possessed? 

''He  seemed  to  have  not  the  least  idea  of  it, 
although  he  said 'she  was  a  good  little  mare,'  but 
he  knew  nothing  of  her  ancestry. " 

The  light  harness-horse  of  America  has  a  great 
many  admirers. 

"  Yes,  and  deservedly  so.  When  properly  broken 
and  trained  they  make  fine  and  valuable  specimens 
of  equine  beauty." 

Have  they  special  blood-lines? 

"  When   carefully  bred  from    thoroughbred    sires 


GENERAL    GRANT  S    HORSES,  139 

and  dams  their  blood-lines  are  distinctive.  They 
again  prove  the  blood  cause  and  for  general  worth 
and  utility  have  few  rivals. " 

Have  many  Arabian  horses  come  to  us  since  the 
close  of  the  war? 

"  You  have  heard  of  course,  of  Leopard  and  Linden 
Tree  presented  to  General  Grant  by  Abdul  Hamid, 
the  Sultan  of  Turkey?  No  American  was  more  fully 
alive  to  the  fact  of  the  sad  reduction  in  numbers  and 
quality  of  American  horses  during  the  war;  and  no 
man  ever  lived  who  more  dearly  loved  a  good  horse 
than  General  Grant.  His  acceptance  of  the  Arabs 
was  in  a  great  measure  influenced  by  their  special 
worth  in  the  stud,  realizing  that  the  race  must  be 
rebuilt." 

Did  you  not  say,  there  was  some  doubt,  about 
General  Grant's  horses,  being  the  true-bred  sons  of 
the  desert? 

"  There  has  often  been  such  a  doubt  expressed." 

Possibly  General  Grant's  letter  to  Mr.  Huntington 
on  the  subject  may  convince  the  unbelieving,  and  I 
am  glad  to  be  able  to  show  it  to  )^ou. 

Did  he  ever  drive  these  horses? 

*'  They  were  possibly  not  broken  to  harness,  but 
if  so,  he  denied  himself  a  great  pleasure,  and  the 
immediate  disposal  of  Leopard  to  General  Beale  and 
of  Linden  to  his  son,  showed  his  interests  and  con- 
fidence in  the  infusion  of  Arab  blood.  He  hoped 
that  from  them  a  new  and  better  type  of  horse  might 
be  created.  They  are  the  only  Arab  stallions  now 
in  America,  it  is  said,  and  their  progeny  are  a  most 
distinctive  and  superior  type." 


I40 


MY  horse;  my  love. 


;\t 


I  Mm 


ill  ^ 


<K 


'1 J  ^  • 


'  ^ ;  f  ii! 


GENERAL    GRANT  S    HORSES. 


141 


] 


^N 


^^  u^ 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

AMERICO-ARAB    STUD. 

You  have  doubtless  visited  the  stud  on  Long 
Island  where  this  family  of  Americo- Arabs  is  bred? 

"  Only  a  few  weeks  ago  I  was  there  and  examined 
with  great  interest,  the  various  members  of  this 
unique  family.  Some  of  them  were  very  handsome 
animals." 

The  beautiful  mare,  Naomi,  and  her  filly,  Ruth- 
Clay,  were  there? 

"  Certainly.  Naomi  is  said  to  be  the  only  Arab 
mare  ever  imported  to  this  country,  no  record  of  any 
other  having  been  found." 

It  was  with  great  difficulty  and  only  through  the 
influence  of  powerful  friends  in  Europe  that  the 
president  of  the  company  succeeded  in  importing  and 
securing  Naomi. 

"Yes,  her  arrival  was  a  happy  event,  as  Mr. 
Huntington  believes  that  the  Arab  is  primitive  and 
perfect,  and  reproduces  himself  with  all  mental 
and  physical  perfection ;  that  all  of  our  values  in 
the  horse,  whether  to  trot,  pace,  or  run,  come  from 
the  Arab,  and  that  all  good  qualities  are  less  or 
greater,  according  to  the  amount  of  good  Arab 
blood.  Crossings  are  but  the  dilution  of  blood  cause. 
He  realized  the  necessity  of  having  more  pure  Arab 

142 


AMERICO-ARAB     STUD.  I43 

blood,  especially  in  the  female  line,  that  a  promis- 
cuous use  of  it  is  not  satisfactory,  and  that  an  affinity 
blood  is  essential. " 

Then  he  adopted  the  methods  employed  in  the 
Old  World? 

"  Exactly  so,  and  as  here  the  Clay,  Morgan,  and 
Gold-dust  families  are  strongest  in  the  Arab  blood, 
he  selected  virgin  mares  to  mate  with  General 
Grant's  Arabs,  and  was  fortunate  in  the  get  of  one 
filly  and  three  colts.  While  these  were  growing  he 
interbred  these  three  families,  getting  a  harem  of 
fillies  which  at  maturity  he  mated  with  the  sons  of 
Leopard  and  Linden  Tree.  The  result  was  the 
foundation  of  a  superb  stud  of  thoroughbreds." 

Why  do  they  refuse  to  sell  these  horses? 

"  Because  it  is  desirable  to  have  a  family  so  large 
that  it  can  reproduce  itself,  then  the  annual  sales  need 
not  weaken  the  strength  of  the  plant.  By  close  breed- 
ing with  this  Arab  blood,  the  animals  he  might  sell 
in  the  one  blood  will  be  so  near  to  the  primitive,  that 
the  improved  results  will  be  positive,  and  will,  there- 
fore, benefit  any  community  into  which  they  may 
be  introduced." 

Then  the  object  of  this  company  is  to  breed  such 
perfect  horses  from  the  Arab  as  to  elevate  the  blood- 
standard  in  the  United  States. 

"  You  have  said  it,  madam,  and  it  can  only  be  re- 
garded as  a  national  triumph  to  breed  a  pure  type 
that  shall  with  certainty  reproduce  itself  in  any  coun- 
try, and  to  perpetuate  it  until  it  shall  be  known, 
recognized,  approved,  and  earnestly  sought  for  by 
every  other  nation  as  the  American  horse.'' 


144  MY  horse;  my  love. 

Did  3-0U  see  any  of  the  direct  progeny  of  General 
Grant's  Arabs,  Count? 

"Abdul  Hamid  II.,  a  golden  sorrel,  and  Abdul 
Hamid  III.,  a  bay,  are  a  son  and  grandson  of 
Leopard.  Although  Leopard  and  Linden  are  grays 
strange  to  say,  none  of  their  progeny  are  gray. 
Abdul  Hamid  III.  was  from  an  own  sister  to  the 
dam  of  his  sire,  Abdul  Hamid  II.  Both  these  stal- 
lions are  much  larger  than  their  sire  and  grandsire, 
Leopard.  Their  dams  were  Mary  and  Topsy  Shep- 
ard,  by  Jack  Shepard,  a  son  of  Henry  Clay,  from  a 
granddaughter  of  imported  Messenger.  The  heads 
of  this  Leopard  family  are  uniformly  fine  and  clean, 
with  straight  faces  Their  limbs  show  their  good 
blood,  and  their  hocks  are  clean,  as  if  chiselled 
from  marble.  They  show  fine  trotting  action,  all  to 
the  credit  of  their  sire,  Leopard." 

Is  Linden's  produce  there  also? 

"  Hegira,  by  Linden,  was  from  a  daughter  of 
Henry  Clay.  This  horse  stands  fifteen  and  one-half 
hands  high  barefoot,  and  is  a  rich,  dapple  coal-black. 
Linden  was  purchased  by  Abdul  Hamid  II.,  Sultan 
of  Turkey,  from  an  Egyptian  merchant.  It  is  said 
that  all  of  the  Sultan's  Arabs  are  either  seized  by  his 
tax-gatherers,  or  purchased  by  their  agents.  Hegira, 
by  Linden,  represents  entirely  different  blood, 
from  the  get  by  Leopard.  The  head  is  shorter, 
finer  in  the  muzzle,  deeper  and  broader  between 
jowls,  dished  in  the  face,  with  great  breadth 
between  the  eyes.  The  ears  are  shorter  and  finer, 
the  rump  more  sloping,  showing  all  the  characteris- 


AMERICO-ARAB    STUD.  145 

tics  of  the  pure  Barb,  a  special  family  descending 
from  the  Numidian  horse,  also  an  Arab. 

"  Euphrates,  a  son  of  Hegira,  from  Mary  Shepard, 
is  the  counterpart  of  his  sire  in  build  and  color;  but 
is  phenomenal  in  that  even  at  a  walk  he  takes  the 
pacing  step.  This  inclination  to  pace  is  shown  m  all 
the  get  of  Hegira,  although  he  is  a  square-gaited 
trotter-  and  from  the  beginning  of  these  special 
breedings  no  horse  or  mare  was  ever  known  to  pace 
until  Euphrates  set  the  fashion. 

"  The  sire  of  Clay  Truth,  a  game  and  resolute  trotter 
with  a  delightful  disposition,  was  Ashland  by  Henry 
Clay  His  dam  was  interbred  to  the  blood  of  Justm 
Morgan,  the  Arab  founder  of  the  Morgan  family. 

"Ahorse  showing  fine  trotting  speed  is  Young 
Jack  Shepard  by  Jack  Shepard,  by  Henry  Clay  and 
from  Kate  McPherson,  by  Henry  Clay.  He  is  a  beau- 
tiful dapple  gray." 

Where  was  Henry  Clay  born? 
"  He  was  born  on  Long  Island,  not  far  from  where 
the  Arab,  Anglo-Arab,  and  Clay  Stock  F-m  Co«. 
pany  is  located.  In  this  collection  is  the  only  daugh- 
ter of  Henry  Clay  now  living,  not  too  old  to  produce ; 
while  the  interbred  sons  and  daughters  have  come 

back  to  Long  Island,  to  ^-^'°'\'''^''''''''l'''f;Z 
she  lost,  when  all  the  blood  of  Andrew  Jackson  (the 
Anglo-Arab  bred  sire  of  Henry  Clay)  was  sold  away 

^'Tut'you  have  told  me  so  little.  Count,  of  the 
Arab  mare,  Naomi. 

•'There  is  no   doubt  whatever    of    the    absolute 


146  MY  horse;  my  love. 

purity  of  Naomi's  blood.  The  late  Captain  Roger 
Upton,  of  the  English  Army,  who  lived  frequently 
among  the  Arabs,  and  was  an  enthusiast  about  pure 
horses,  himself  purchased  both  her  parents  at  great 
cost  from  the  Gomussa  tribe,  in  the  Euphrates  val- 
ley. Naomi  was  foaled  a  few  days  after  their  arrival 
in  England.  Her  sire  was  Yataghen,  14.3,  and  her 
dam  Haidee,  also  14.3.  Both  these  were  Maneghi, 
considered  in  the  desert  the  choicest  of  all  families. 
They  have,  as  a  rule,  finer  action,  and  if.  possible, 
a  greater  amount  of  wear  and  tear  in  them.  On 
the  other  hand,  they  are  a  little  larger  and  coarser 
in  the  head  sometimes,  than,  for  instance,  the 
Seglawi  Jedran.  An  alliance  between  the  last-named 
family  and  the  Maneghi  is  simply  perfect,  so  far  as 
blood  goes.  Owing  to  the  system  of  Naomi's  rearing 
she  is  the  largest  pure  Arabian  I  have  seen,  being 
i^}4  hands  high." 

English  breeders  did  not  relish  the  idea  of  her 
being  sent  here,  I've  heard. 

'*No,  but  her  owner,  the  Rev.  F.  F.  Vidal,  of 
Suffolk  County,  England,  was  so  interested  in  the 
efforts  of  this  company  to  breed  pure  Arabs  (and 
because  of  his  illness  induced  to  relinquish  his  stud) 
that  he  at  last  listened  to  the  petitions  for  her  and 
sent  her  over.  Her  colt,  Gomussa,  now  in  Chili, 
was  by  Kouch.  All  race-horsemen  in  America,  as 
well  as  England,  know  that  the  opinion  of  the  cele- 
brated jockey,  Fred  Archer,  was  of  great  value.  He 
rode  Kismet  in  his  English  races,  and  pronounced 
him  the  gamest  horse  and  best  finisher  of  a  race  he 
had  ever  ridden." 


AMER1C0-ARAI5     STUD. 


147 


148  MV   iiorsk;  mv  love. 

What  get  has  Naomi  here? 

"  Since  coming-  to  this  country  she  has  produced  the 
beautiful  colt,  Anazeh — now  two  years  old — by  Gen- 
eral Grant's  Leopard.  This  gives  Anazeh  the  distinc- 
tion of  being  the  first  pure-bred  Arabian  horse  born 
in  the  United  States,  both  sire  and  dam  being  im- 
ported as  the  true 'air-drinkers  of  the  desert.'  In 
1890  the  dainty  filly,  Ruth  Clay,  was  born,  whose 
sire  is  Jack  Shepard.  Ruth  Clay  roams  with  her 
mother,  Naomi,  without  bridle  or  halter,  as  tame  as 
any  dog,  about  the  unfenced  grounds  surrounding  her 
master's  house.  They  both  expect  caresses  and 
come  for  them  with  a  little  air  of  curiosity  toward  ? 
stranger,  that  partakes  not  in  the  least  of  feai 
Naomi  has  all  the  dignity  of  aristocratic  birth  ana 
associations,  walking  up  to  you  as  sedately  as  you 
please,  to  have  her  pretty  face  stroked.  When  a 
lump  of  sugar  is  not  in  evidence,  Ruth  pokes  her 
dainty  muzzle  about  her  mistress'  skirts  to  find  her 
pocket,  and  the  sugar  dropped  within  it.  She  is 
playful,  alert,  coquettish,  and  full  of  mischievous 
pranks,  and  like  her  dam,  bids  f^ir  to  remind  one  of 
the  quotation,  'In  her,  strength  and  beauty  have 
come  together,'  and  all  the  pride  of  all  her  race,  in 
herself  reflected  lives." 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

CONCLUSION. 

In  all  my  conversations  with  the  Count  little  has 
been  said  about  the  inevitable  effects  of  climate  on  all 
races  of  men  and  animals.  It  is  so  interesting  a 
study,  that  many  chapters  might  be  needed  to  do  jus- 
tice to  the  subject.  A  few  words  now  regarding  it 
may  not  be  amiss. 

That  climate  makes  and  unmakes  different  types 
of  races  in  man,  is  a  conceded  fact,  even  to  a  com- 
plete change  of  form  and  feature.  The  dark,  glow- 
ing eyes  of  the  fervid  South,  after  two  or  three  gen- 
erations, become  blue  or  gray  with  softer  lights, 
when  transplanted  to  the  North,  and  the  hair,  black 
as  night,  turns  to  tender  brown  or  shining  gold. 
Owing  to  the  different  conditions  of  climate  another 
type  is  being  evolved,  and  even  the  nature  and  dis- 
position are  undergoing  a  radical  change. 

In  England,  the  mild-tempered  climate  tends  to 
round  out  the  form,  and  to  give  a  reddish  glow  to 
the  face.  To  expect  the  same  type  in  France,  only 
across  the  channel,  would  be  absurd,  or  to  mistake 
an  Italian  for  a  German  would  be  laughable.  The 
climate  in  these  countries  is  pronounced,  and  so  are 
the  types.  With  our  entirely  uncertain  clim^ate  who 
can  be  sure  of  any  distinct  type  in  America?     We 

149 


150  MY   horse;  my  love. 

have  our  class  distinctions,  our  various  social  levels, 
our  families,  proud  of  their  American  ancestry;  and 
to  serve  us  all,  we  import  from  every  country  under 
the  sun.  We  are  always  importing  distinct  types 
of  live  stock,  both  of  man  and  beast,  and  our  importa- 
tions "come  to  stay."  But  even  after  many  years — 
beyond  the  "/<?  ne  sais  quoi,''  which  betrays  our 
nationality — who  can  assert  that  America  has  a  type? 
Do  we  owe  this  fact  to  our  ever  changing  climate, 
which  w^oos  us  with  coquettish  smile,  caressing  our 
expectant  cheeks  with  balmy  breezes  from  the  Sunny 
South,  and  embracing  us  in  a  loving,  generous 
warmth  one  day,  and  the  next!  with  blackest  frown; 
pelts  us  unmercifully  with  wind  and  storm,  hail  and 
rain,  with  terrifying  thunder  which  roars  at  us,  and 
angry  lightning  which  strikes  and  blinds  and  destroys 
us?  With  nothing  positive  in  the  way  of  climate, 
our  differing  types  have  no  chance  to  become  fixed, 
and  the  student  who  loves  to  arrange  and  classify 
will  yield  the  attempt  in  despair. 

When  we  import  a  horse  of  whatever  type,  after 
two  or  three  generations  his  progeny  loses  his  dis- 
tinctive marks,  and  in  two  or  three  more  the  climate 
has  obliterated  any  that  might  be  left.  Some  three 
hundred  years  ago  when  the  Spanish  horses  entered 
America,  some  of  them  escaped  to  the  great  plains 
of  the  West.  From  them  has  been  evolved  the  native 
horse  of  America,  the  broncho.  The  conditions  of 
climate  have  made  him  what  he  is,  strong,  rough,  and 
hardy;  able  to  exist  on  the  scantiest  of  food,  in  the 
severest  weather.  He  would  probably  turn  up  his 
nose   at   a  "warm   mash,"    thinking    it   "food    for 


CONCLUSION.  151 

babes,"  and  would  no  doubt  resent  a  daily  groom- 
ing as  an  unwarranted  liberty.  He  remains  a  sav- 
age, and  as  a  savage  cannot  always  be  trusted.  But 
when  he  is  caught  and  fairly  tamed,  he  can  do  more 
hard  steady  work  in  a  day,  than  the  pampered, 
petted  stabled  horse  of  the  East,  could  do  in  three. 
This  broncho  is  our  national  type,  evolved  by  the 
climate  of  the  plains,  and  in  direct  contrast  to  the 
tame,  gentle,  and  affectionate  Arab,  reared  in  the 
wilds  of  the  scorching  unprotected  desert.  Small 
in  size,  they  are  both  hardy,  enduring,  and  able  to 
travel  great  distances  without  fatigue  and  here  the 
two  extremes  of  climate,  seem  to  develop  similar 
characteristics  of  endurance.  When  we  can  control 
our  climate  we  may  be  able  to  develop  fixed  types; 
but  until  then  it  must  be  our  excuse,  that  something 
different  from  what  we  so  often  expect,  appears. 

The  shrewdest  and  most  thoughtful  observers  and 
students  of  animal  life  are  frequently  those,  who  give 
not  to  the  doubting  world  the  benefit  of  their  wisdom 
and  experience.  Too  often  they  are  misunderstood 
and  any  facts  that  seem  strange  and  new,  and  yet  are 
as  old  as  the  memory  of  man,  are  received  with 
doubt,  contempt,  and  ridicule.  In  a  way  we  Ameri- 
cans are  a  self-satisfied,  self-sufficient  people,  pro- 
claiming our  patriotic  love  for  our  newly-founded  in- 
stitutions, by  ignoring  the  wisdom  gained  in  the  Old 
World,  through  centuries  of  practical  experience. 
Many  things  that  we  have  never  thought  about  at  all, 
or  that  are  just  beginning  to  present  themselves  to 
our  intelligence,  have  occupied  the  close  attention  of 
foreign  governments  for  hundreds  of  years.     Facts 


152  MY  horse;  my  love. 

are  stubborn  things,  and  cannot  be  obliterated  by 
any  amount  of  denial  or  argument.  The  Austrian, 
French,  Russian,  German,  Italian,  and  other  Euro- 
pean goverments  have  studied  deeply,  the  blood 
cause  in  horses,  and  having  a  wide  and  comprehen- 
sive faith  in  their  ov^n  methods,  naturally  look  with 
disdain  upon  ignorant  and  unscientific  breeders. 

The  English  have  admired  always  what  is  7iot 
English,  with  a  "  saving  clause,"  and  when  the  Amer- 
ican colonists,  more  than  a  century  ago,  asked  for 
their  freedom  from  English  rule,  it  was  refused  with 
the  intimation  that  they  were  not  capable  of  self-gov- 
ernment. This  sneer  lost  John  Bull  his  colonies,  and 
America  then  and  there  declared  her  independence 
to  act  as  she  pleased.  She  has  done  so  ever  since, 
not  always  admitting,  that  in  some  things,  other  na- 
tions might  be  wiser.  But  to-day,  in  matters  of  sci- 
ence she  recognizes  the  imperative  necessity  of  a 
training  that  educates,  compares,  observes  closely, 
avoids  serious  mistakes,  and  produces  the  inevitable 
consequences  desired  or  intended.  It  is  one  of  the 
blessed  results  of  our  swift  Trans- Atlantic  journeys, 
encouraging  constant  travel  and  communication  with 
foreign  countries,  that  the  wise  of  our  day  and  gener- 
ation have  been  enabled  to  gather  and  enjoy  the 
various  fruits  of  scientific  research,  ripe  with  age,  to 
be  found  in  the  cultivated  gardens  of  Europe's  col- 
leges. 

The  recent  establishment  here  of  veterinary 
schools  is  a  growth  commensurate  with  the  more 
advanced  ideas,  not  only  of  men  of  science,  but  of 
such  interested  owners  of  blooded  stock  as  desire  to 


CONCLUSION.  153 

perpetuate  the  best  types,  and  who  are  willing  to  ex- 
periment only  in  the  right  direction.  Only  a  few 
years  ago  the  "  vet"  in  America  was  the  stableman, 
practised  only  in  his  daily  care  of,  and  experience 
with,  horses,  and  seeking  to  relieve  their  distress 
through  his  verj'  love  of  them.  To-day  a  thorough 
course  of  study  and  practical  training  is  deemed 
essential,  to  secure  a  graduate's  diploma  in  any 
veterinary  college.  The  American  Veterinary  Review^ 
issued  monthly,  edited  by  Prof.  A.  Liautard,  M.D., 
V.M.,  Honorary  Fellow  of  the  Royal  College  of 
Veterinary  Surgeons,  England,  and  the  valuable 
works  of  Dr.  James  Law,  of  Cornell  University,  Prof. 
O.  Schwartzkopff,  V.M-.,  of  the  University  of  Min- 
nesota, Prof.  Wm.  Zuill,  M.D.,  D.V.S.,  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania,  Dr.  Hoskins  and  Dr.  Will- 
iams of  New  York,  Dr.  Huidekoper  of  Philadelphia, 
Dr.  D.  E.  Salmon  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agri- 
culture, and  others,  tell  of  the  great  strides  in  prac- 
tical scientific  knowledge  our  students  are  making. 

To  seize  an  idea  quickly  and  improve  it  to  perfec- 
tion is  a  national  trait — a  matter  of  chronic  surprise 
and  wonderment,  to  those  who  know  only  the  method 
which  grinds  and  plods,  to  arrive  at  certain  truths 
only  after  the  most  exhausting  labor. 

If  our  experiments  are  somewhat  bold,  we  are  sure 
they  will  be  tempered  with  humane  treatment,  and 
that  we  shall  never  imitate  the  dreadful  abuses  one 
sometimes  reads  of  in  the  foreign  news,  to  which 
science  in  many  cases  condemns  its  victims,  the 
wretched  dumb  creatures  selected  for  experiment. 

Our  societies  for   the   prevention   of    cruelty  to 


154  ^lY  horse;  my  love. 

animals,  presided  over  by  such  men  as  George 
Angell  of  Boston  and  John  P.  Haines  of  New  York, 
are  ever  on  the  alert  to  enforce  kindest  consideration 
for  all  that  need  their  protection,  while  cruelties  are 
punished  with  all  the  rigors  of  the  law.  The  workers 
are  in  earnest.  Abuses  are  being  corrected.  The 
abolishment  of  the  check-rein  in  many  of  the 
smartest  turn-outs  on  our  fashionable  drives,  proves 
the  significance  of  "  Black  Beauty's"  horse-sense, 
and  how  deeply  it  has  sunk  into  the  minds  and 
natures  of  the  hitherto  unthinking.  That  they  fol- 
low the  example  set  by  the  Queen  of  England,  who 
permits  no  check-reins,  does  not  detract  from  the 
courage  of  refusing  here,  to  follow  a  fashionable 
fad. 

All  domesticated  animals  crave  a  perfect  sympathy 
with  their  masters,  and  ask  in  their  mute  way  for  some 
constant  expression  of  it.  What  lover  can  exhibit  a 
more  genuine  jealousy  than  a  devoted  dog,  or  show 
the  symptoms  of  that  unhappy  trait  more  deter- 
minedly? What  a  tragical  grief  is  that  which  can 
make  a  dog  or  horse  refuse  his  food,  and  thus  die  of 
starvation,  for  the  loss  of  his  companion  for  whom  he 
had  such  enduring  love?  Such  instances  are  nu- 
merous. Horses  are  never  so  willing,  as  when  they 
feel  the  magnetic  influence  of  the  hand  that  guides, 
and  the  voice  that  cheers  them  on!  So  intense  is 
this  sympathy  that  they  become  easy  subjects  of 
hypnotization.  The  practice  of  this  mysterious 
science  was  introduced  into  the  Austrian  army  by 
a  cavalry  officer  named  Balassa,  and  hence  is  called 
"Balassiren."     So  popular  has  it  become  in  cases 


CONCLUSION.  155 

of  any  painful  operation,  that  it  has  been  adopted  by 
law  in  Austria. 

What  the  years  may  bring  forth  to  us  in  our 
intimate  and  ever  extending  knowledge  of  the  super- 
lative delight  and  usefulness  of  our  coming  horse, 
may  all  my  indulgent  readers  live  to  know  and  ap- 
preciate !  And  if  this  little  book  shall  point  the  way 
to  improvement  in  any  direction,  it  will  have  ful- 
filled its  intended  mission. 


